Minister Kodali Nani who is known for his sharp, objectionable comments spat fire on Amaravati once again. He said that Amaravati was a lost cause and that it is not fit to even be the legislative capital of Andhra Pradesh. In a desperate attempt to support his words, he said when poor people weren’t given a single cent of land to live in Amaravati, it should never be given the status of legislative capital. The opposition Telugu Desam responded with equal fire and condemned the comments without mincing words. Political analysts opine that the script of what he spoke came from the party headquarters and can be treated as CM Jagan’s viewpoint.
It is evident that Jagan is using the façade of decentralization to sell his three capitals idea. Even a kid can tell that the main objective is to shift capital from Amaravati at any cost. As the case related to Capital shift is still pending in the high court, Jagan and his associates are drawing plans to build necessary infrastructure that can support administration in Vizag when the shift happens. A ‘guest house’ building coming up on 30 acres of prime land seems like a well packaged fabrication to avoid censure from the court. Even though the government has announced that they are not building any guesthouses in Vizag, recent statements of Minister Avanthi Srinivas say otherwise.
Jagan behind Nani’s words?
Recently Nani came up with a demand to distribute 1200 acres of land in Amaravati to the poor at the rate of one cent of land per family. The farmers who donated their lands challenged this in court and the distribution got stopped abruptly. This irked the leadership of YSRCP resulting in Nani threatening to change legislative capital from Amaravati.
Nani recently said, “The assembly building holds no relevance in Amaravati if we can’t give a single cent to a poor individual.” This comment has deeply hurt the protesting farmers who have parted with their valuable lands for the cause of building a capital. When the farmers were already affected by the three capitals decision, Nani’s words have further lowered their morale. Inside sources report that these comments by Nani are a result of his one-on-one meeting with Jagan recently.
Amaravati effect
Amaravati fiasco is said to be having an adverse impact on an upcoming interlinking project which aims to move water from Godavari to Krishna and into Penna River. Revenue officers who conducted the meeting at Narukullapadu in Guntur district were in for a rude shock when farmers refused to participate in land pooling for the project. Knowing fully the trials and tribulations of Amaravati farmers, they are demanding 2.7 times more money than the registration rate for their lands. This will make the price of land escalate from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 2 crores. Sources say that this move from the farmers is a direct result of Nani’s provocative comments.
