The union government has reiterated its stand on the issue of the decentralisation of the Andhra Pradesh capital, saying that the state government is free to choose its capital. On Thursday, a counter-affidavit was filed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in response to a writ petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking implementation of Special Category Status to the state, and other provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
The counter affidavit stated that, “the capital city of a state is decided by the respective state government. Central government has no role in it.”
The declaration comes a day after Leader of Opposition Chandrababu Naidu urged the Centre to intervene in the matter. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Naidu reportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must intervene and retain Amaravati as the state capital, while praising the PM for laying the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Naidu also drew a parallel to Modi laying the foundation stone for Amaravati.
This is not the first time that the Centre has refrained from interfering in Andhra’s capital issue, since Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy announced the decision to trifurcate the capital and shift the executive capital to Vizag.
Earlier in February, following a controversy when the Centre released a map of India (after the abrogation of Article 370) — which did now show a capital for Andhra Pradesh — Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai stated, “Government of Andhra Pradesh had notified Amaravati as the Capital City, vide its G.O (Government Order) dated April 23, 2015. Recently, media reports have appeared indicating the state government’s decision to create three capitals for Andhra Pradesh. It is for each state to decide its capital within its territory.”
The Minister was responding to a question posed by TDP MP Jayadev Galla in Parliament, who had asked for the union government’s reaction to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan’s decision to set up three capitals in the state. Jayadev Galla had asked whether the Union government would advise the state government “not to resort to such decisions”, as it would hurt farmers and investments in the region.
Ever since CM Jagan announced the decision to decentralise the capital in December 2019, the opposition parties have looked to the Centre for intervention in the matter.
In January, even as BJP ally and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan sought the Centre’s intervention in the capital issue, BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao said that the subject of capital came under the state's purview and that they had no role in it.