MPs across parties voice strong views
VIJAYAWADA: In a historic move, the Lok Sabha has approved the Bill granting statutory status to Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha under the title, 'The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Act.’ A discussion on the bill followed for two hours.
The Bill, which would now go to the Rajya Sabha for passage, seeks to amend Section 5(2) of the Reorganisation Act, 2014, formally designating Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh with retrospective effect from June 2, 2024.
The presiding officer, Tenneti Krishnaprasad, later announced the Lok Sabha’s approval. The legislation would be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday and then sent for Union Cabinet ratification and Presidential assent.
Opening the debate, Union minister of state for rural development and communications Pemmasani Chandrasekhar said the amendment would end all uncertainty surrounding Amaravati’s status. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah for their support.
He called Amaravati the “vision and mission” of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. He also credited Jana Sena chief K. Pawan Kalyan with upholding alliance unity and noted that alleged “suppression” under the YSRC term had turned Amaravati into a national movement.
Pemmasani emphasised that capitals like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad had driven state growth, expressing the hope that Amaravati would play a similar role. He also reiterated that the Supreme Court, in 2022, had affirmed that capital-related decisions fall within the Centre’s purview.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore extended unequivocal support to the Bill, urging the Centre to allocate sufficient funds to build Amaravati into a world-class capital. However, he flagged the pending promise of special category status for Andhra Pradesh and called for the fulfilment of all assurances made at the time of bifurcation.
Jana Sena MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry announced his party’s full support, stating that Amaravati had emerged under “compelling circumstances” following the 2014 bifurcation. He criticised the previous government for creating hurdles and insisted that the people-backed capital must remain permanent.
Voicing strong criticism, Vizianagaram MP Kalisetti Appalanaidu said it was “unfortunate” that while most parties supported the Bill, the YSRC opposed it. He alleged that YSRC members staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha, thereby “insulting the sacrifices of farmers” who contributed land for the capital.
BJP MP Daggubati Purandeswari observed that Amaravati became the capital under unavoidable circumstances following what she termed an “irrational bifurcation.” She accused the previous YSRC government of pushing the capital into uncertainty through “ill-conceived decisions”. She stressed that any change in capital status must have Parliament’s approval, as was the case with the 2014 Reorganisation Act.
Purandeswari added that granting legal status to Amaravati would prevent similar disputes in other states.
BJP MP C.M. Ramesh asserted that the legislation would put an end to the “three-capital debate” in Andhra Pradesh. He remarked that a capital was not merely a cluster of buildings but “the heartbeat of the Telugu people,” and accused the previous regime of attempting to undermine Amaravati during its tenure.
Expressing confidence in the alliance government’s stability in the state, he said that no one would be able to alter Amaravati’s status henceforth.
