TIRUPATI: The lanes of Tirupati on Saturday reverberated with people raising slogans in support of the YSRC government’s proposal to establish three capitals in the State. Tens and thousands of people, including academicians, intellectuals, lawyers and women, took part in the Rayalaseema Atma Gourava Maha Pradarshana (rally) held from Krishnapuram police station to the municipal corporation office in the city.
“For more than eight decades, the people of Rayalaseema sacrificed their aspirations at the behest of the leaders of coastal Andhra. Now, as the State government has proposed to announce Kurnool as the judicial capital, people hailing from this backward region are not ready to lose again,” intellectuals, who participated in the rally, asserted.
Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy had called for the rally “to highlight and explain the historic injustice done to the Rayalaseema region” and “to emphasise on the need to develop a capital in line with the Sribagh Pact signed in 1937.”
“This maha garjana is a reflection of the aspirations of the people of Rayalaseema. While Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is fulfilling the wish of the public to make Kurnool the judicial capital, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and media channels supporting his party are spreading false propaganda on decentralisation,” the MLA remarked.
The rallies in Visakhapatnam and now in Tirupati are proof enough of the people’s support for Jagan’s three-capitals’ decision, Karunakar Reddy noted. Stating that Jagan had been against establishing Amaravati as the capital city as the lush green agriculture land was destroyed, he said, “For this very reason, the chief minister denied the invitation to participate in the stone-laying ceremony of Amaravati capital city construction by Narendra Modi and the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.”
Set up KRMB office, mini-secretariat in Rayalaseema: Intellectuals Forum
YSRC Regional Coordinator (North Andhra) and TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy also took part in the rally and thanked the public for their support. “Over one lakh people joined the rally today. This in itself means a lot to us. The YSRC is a party of the people, for the people and by the people. The public is the real king. We will go out of our way to ensure that they get what they want. We promise to realise their aspirations,” Subba Reddy said.
Meanwhile, Rayalaseema Intellectual Forum Convenor Purushottham Reddy demanded that the State government establish the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) in Rayalaseema, a mini-secretariat, enhance fund allocations for irrigation projects and IT firms in Tirupati.
Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumoorthy appealed to the political parties to end politics over the establishment of three capitals and heed to the demands of the public.
“This rally is to put an end to selfish politicians who want to satisfy the demands of the real estate mafia and establish only a single capital. Rayalaseema has been discriminated against for a very long time and development is possible only with the establishment of a judicial capital in Kurnool,” the MP remarked.
Tirupati City Mayor Dr Sirisha said all parts of the State will be developed through decentralisation.
“The three-capitals’ proposal of the State government should be implemented to ensure a bright future for the next generation.
The establishment of a judicial capital in Kurnool is a symbol of Rayalaseema’s self-respect,’’ the Tirupati Mayor maintained.Deputy Mayors Abhinay Reddy, Mudra Narayana and other YSRC leaders, advocates, women in large numbers, students, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam employees and others participated in the Rayalaseema Atma Gourava Maha Pradarshana.