Amaravati Farmers Stage Protest In Delhi Against Andhra Pradesh Govt's Plan For Three Capitals

Carrying placards and ploughs, the demonstrators also demanded that the YSR Congress Party government in the state stick to the earlier plan of having one capital city in Amaravati

Farmers of Andhra Pradesh's Amaravati staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday. ( Image Source :PTI )

A large number of farmers from Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh organised a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar against the state government's plan for bringing a law to develop three capitals instead of one, with MPs from various parties joining them to extend their support.

Carrying placards and ploughs, the demonstrators also demanded that the YSR Congress Party government in the state stick to the earlier plan of having one capital city in Amaravati as envisaged by former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu in 2014.

TDP leaders, including Jayadev Galla and K Rammohan Naidu, Bahujan Samaj Party's Danish Ali and YSR Congress' K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, a dissident leader in the state's ruling party, were among the parliamentarians who expressed their support to the farmers protesting under the banner of the 'Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi'.

Several other leaders, including from the Congress and the Left such as CPI secretary D Raja and its Rajya Sabha member Santhosh Kumar, also joined the demonstration at the Jantar Mantar, according to a statement from the Samithi.

"Farmers want the government to honour its earlier commitment. Their land has been taken in lieu of developing the capital in Amaravati but now the government is backtracking," Raju said.

Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi president Shiva Reddy said the YSR Congress after coming to power in 2019 reversed the decision of the previous TDP government to develop Amaravati as the only state capital and decided to build two more capitals in Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.

This had triggered massive protests by farmers of Amaravati who had "given 33,000 acres of land for the capital", he said, adding that they feel betrayed now.

Farmers had also organised a maha padayatra from Amaravati to Tirupati last year to mobilise public support for their demands, Reddy said. For the last three years, farmers have been protesting against the state government's decision to establish three capitals, the organisation's president said.