All these days, Bharatiya Janata Party had been adopting a strange stand on Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Though former state BJP chief Kanna Lakshminarayana was vehemently supporting Amaravati as the capita, the party had never taken a clear stand.
In fact, after senior leader and MLC Somu Veerraju took over as the BJP chief of Andhra Pradesh, he had been acting tough against the party leaders who had openly supported Amaravati.
He even sacked some of the leaders from the party for taking a stand in support of agitating Amaravati farmers in the media.
Apart from Veerraju, other leaders like Sunil Deodhar and G V L Narasimha Rao had been saying that the BJP government at the Centre would not interfere in the capital issue at all, as it was the state government’s prerogative.
But now, the BJP leadership is learnt to have come out with a clear stand in support of Amaravati as the state capital.
On Monday, Somu Veerraju gave clarity on the issue stating that the BJP was strongly opposing the three capitals plan of the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
“I am speaking as a representative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Andhra Pradesh. BJP is of a strong view that the state capital shall remain in Amaravati and we are strongly opposing the three capitals plan of Jagan Mohan Reddy,” Veerraju said, addressing a rally of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh at Thulluru in Amaravati.
He reminded that the BJP was constructing its state headquarters in Vijayawada.
“It clearly shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in favour of Amaravati. As part of the capital city, the Centre has taken up All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Mangalagiri with Rs 1800 crore. Durgamma flyover was completed and everything promised for Amaravati was being completed,” he said.
Stating that the BJP would not change its stand like Jagan, the state BJP president said the party would take up the agitation for retaining the capital at Amaravati.
“In 2024, if the BJP is voted to power, we shall develop Amaravati in a big way at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore,” Veerraju said.
He reiterated his demand for development of plots allotted to the farmers while developing Amaravati as the capital. He also promised to develop Amaravati Express Highway as planned originally.