A day after the State government issued a Government Order (G.O. 2283) accepting the recommendations of the Officials’ Committee on transit accommodation in Visakhapatnam, the Opposition parties came down heavily on the State government accusing it of going ahead with the process of shifting the administration despite court orders to the contrary.
Taking to X on Friday, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary Nara Lokesh said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was planning to shift the capital to Visakhapatnam despite court orders. “The TDP government, under the leadership of Nara Chandrababu Naidu, built a Secretariat in the capital city of Amaravati. Instead of ruling the State from there, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy is planning to make Visakhapatnam the capital,” Mr. Lokesh said.
“Thousands of people are losing their jobs due to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s incompetence and empty-headed ideas. Revenue-generating companies are migrating to neighbouring States due to the government’s policies like evicting the Millennium Towers built solely for the IT sector. Also, the YSRCP government is destroying Rushikonda and Kailasagiri. What will Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy achieve by destroying Visakhapatnam and sitting on its ruins?” Mr. Lokesh asked.
Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary K. Ramakrishna wondered if Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had any respect for the judiciary. “The government’s decision to shift the seat of administration in spite of a case pending in the Supreme Court indicates that the Chief Minister has no respect for the judiciary. It is irresponsible behaviour on the part of the Chief Minister to issue such G.O.s though the case is pending before a court of law,” Mr. Ramakrishna said, adding that the Chief Minister should wait until the court pronounced its verdict in the matter.
‘Unilateral decision’
“As elections were fast approaching and would be conducted in three months, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has raked up the three capitals issue once again. The CPI condemns the unilateral decision of the Chief Minister to shift the seat of administration,” the CPI leader alleged.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy stated that he would start functioning from Visakhapatnam from December this year. The G.O. was issued in that direction. Before the 2019 elections, he shifted to Amaravati and claimed that he was the first politician to do so after building a house. He has changed his tune and is now gearing up to relocate to Visakhapatnam. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy is earning a bad reputation for Andhra Pradesh,” Mr. Ramakrishna alleged.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) State secretary V. Srinivasa Rao said that the State government was shifting the government offices in a clandestine manner. “It is against the law. The government should continue to function from Amaravati. The government should also announce a special package for north-coastal Andhra,” he said.
