How do you define a state capital? As we all know the capital is the seat of administration, where all the government offices including state secretariat are located.
But according to state minister for industries Mekapati Gautam Reddy, the state capital is one from where the chief minister operates.
“Wherever the chief minister stays, it is the capital. It can be Vijayawada or some other place. It can even be Pulivendula,” he said.
Gautam said it is presumed that wherever the chief minister has his house, it is deemed to be the state secretariat.
“And therefore, it automatically becomes the state capital,” he said.
He made it clear that whatever decision chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy takes on the location of the state capital, it would be abided by everybody.
“As per the Sri Bagh Agreement, the chief minister has taken the decision to create three capital cities for Andhra Pradesh. We are all committed for the same,” he said.
The three capitals’ issue, which is still languishing in the court of law, has kicked up a controversy in the recent past with the Central government inadvertently mentioning Visakhapatnam as the capital of Andhra Pradesh in a statement tabled on the floor of Lok Sabha.
Though the Centre later clarified that Visakhapatnam was mentioned only as a reference city for fuel prices, the message has gone into the people that the Centre has indirectly endorsed the three capitals’ plan.
It is only a matter of time that the decision comes into implementation once it gets clearance from the high court.