Visakhapatnam: YSRCP in soup over capital remark

Visakhapatnam : The statement made by YSRCP regional coordinator YV Subba Reddy that the government was considering the possibility of asking the Centre to continue Hyderabad as joint capital of AP and Telangana till the promises made in the AP State Re-Organisation Act 2014 were implemented has created political heat across Telugu states.

While political leaders belonging to different parties both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh reacted strongly against Subba Reddy’s statement, the government also went into damage control mode. At a media conference, Minister for Education Botcha Satyanarayana blamed the media for “false campaign,” and said the statement of Subba Reddy were distorted and said that there was no proposal of considering Hyderabad as joint capital though the audio clips clearly show Subba Reddy saying that the government would ask the Centre to make Hyderabad as joint capital for another five years.

He said any one with political sense would not make such a statement. Botcha said what Subba Reddy had said was that since there are many legal complications related to the issue of three capitals, it would be better to continue Hyderabad as the joint capital till everything gets settled.

"We will soon discuss the same with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and take a decision. But this does not mean that it was the government’s decision,” he said.

Responding to it, Telugu Desam Party leaders expressed their anger over Subba Reddy’s statement and the explanation given by Botcha. Former minister and TDP leader Dadi Veerabhadra Rao alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy and K Chandrashekar Rao are making such comments through Subba Reddy as part of the conspiracy hatched to provoke the people of Telangana in the wake of ensuing Lok Sabha elections claiming that Andhra people want to continue their domination though it is 10 years since the state was bifurcated. He pointed out that the Central government had issued a gazette notification saying Amaravati was the capital of AP.

Veerabhadra Rao said that the lives of the middle class people in Visakhapatnam have been turned into hell in the garb of developing the district as executive capital. The CM is only confined to pressing buttons ignoring development of the state.

Further, he stated that the ruling party did not fight against the privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant which is the sentiment and pride of the Telugu people.