YSRCP MLA slams Chandrababu Naidu for politicising state capital issue

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy on Thursday hit out at Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu for "politicising" the issue of state capital in Parliament despite knowing it is the prerogative of the state to decide its capital.

Reddy also accused Naidu of forcibly grabbing the land from farmers in Amaravati and the surrounding area in the name of land pooling.

"He is politicising the issue of state capital at Lok Sabha through his MPs though he very well knows that capital is a state issue. How can Chandrababu Naidu criticise even when some of the farmers met with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy?" he said.

"Jagan will definitely do justice to the farmers in the Amaravati region, but Chandrababu is speaking like a village level leader. How can Naidu call those farmers who met the CM as 'Paid Artists'?" the YSRCP MLA added.

"None of the farmers of Amaravati had cooperated with the former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, but he had forcibly grabbed farmlands from them in the name of land pooling. Is 1.06 lakh acres of land really needed for constructing the capital? Does the capital need 648 sq km of acres," he further said.

Reddy's attack came days after TDP MP Jayadev Galla has moved a privilege motion against a number of Andhra Pradesh police officials, including the Director-General of Police (DGP), for allegedly manhandling him during the three-capital agitation last month.

The YSRCP government and opposition are at loggerheads since the state Assembly passed the 'Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill 2020 in January.

The Bill proposes to have a legislative capital at Amaravati, executive capital and Raj Bhavan at Visakhapatnam and judicial capital at Kurnool.

Continuing his tirade against the TDP chief, Reddy accused Naidu of misusing all officers, including the then DGP RP Thakur during his stint as the chief minister of the state.

"Naidu had misused all officers, including the then DGP RP Thakur. Now the same Chandrababu is threatening the officials and police, only for the fear that his misdeeds would be exposed. His insider trading practices in the Amaravati region will definitely be unearthed," he said.