Proposal to make Vizag AP capital was declared in 1953: Hanumanthu Lajapati Rai

Visakhapatnam: Hanumanthu Lajapati Rai, the former Vice-Chancellor of Ambedkar University and convener of the non-political Joint Action Committee(JAC), on Friday said that the proposal to make Visakhapatnam the capital of Andhra Pradesh was declared in 1953, however, political parties did not take it forward.

JAC is organising "Visakha Garjana," a rally to be held by the YSRCP in support of decentralisation on 15 October. JAC is a 26-member committee comprising prominent professors, medical experts, lawyers, journalists, NGO members, and students among other eminent civil society members.

Speaking to NewsMeter, Lajapati Rai said, "The state capital was declared 66 years ago. It was proposed to have Kurnool as the capital until 1 April 1953, and then shift it to Visakhapatnam on 1 April 1956. Many people do not know this historical fact. Many political leaders have hidden the facts for their selfish reasons."

He said that in those days, many experts and political leaders did not have foresight. "If Vizag was the capital 66 years ago, even after bifurcation, we wouldn't have suffered now. However, Hyderabad was developed while completely ignoring other Andhra regions, putting all money in Hyderabad," he said. Mr. Rai added, "Most backward districts in the state are in north Andhra. People of Uttarandhra are not aware of what is developed in the state. They should know the reason for three capitals, which was what JAC is doing."

He said Vizag as the state capital will spread its light. "We are at zero level in development, and JAC will fight for three capitals," he added.

JAC believes that the wish of the people should be the priority of political parties. Political parties that are against decentralisation should change their mindset. Mr. Rai requested the Opposition parties to think from the right perspective and help in the development of north Andhra.

TTD chairman slams Opposition's false narrative

The YSRCP reiterated that the party has a clear agenda on the 3-capital policy and that it is determined to develop all the regions of the state equally. Speaking a day ahead of the massive Visakha Garjana Sabha, the party's senior-most leader and Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) chairman Y.V Subba Reddy slammed the Opposition for setting a false narrative and asserted that YSRCP is keen to develop Amaravati too.

"The YSRCP government is establishing a legislative capital in Amaravati. Opposition parties are trying to give a bad impression about the government and misleading the public by saying that the YSRCP is trying to stall the development of Amaravati," he said.

Rebutting the claims of Opposition parties, Mr. Subba Reddy said that while the state government is committed to developing Amaravati as the legislative capital, Vizag also needs to be developed as the administrative capital. "Vizag is developed and we need not spend a single penny on developing the city as the capital. With the existing establishments in Vizag, we can immediately start functioning from the capital as it is fully developed. Yes, of course, Kurnool will also be developed as the judicial capital. That is the motto of our CM Jagan Mohan Reddy who wants to ensure the decentralisation of administration. Since it is the wish of the Andhra Pradesh people, we are committed to doing that," he said.

Tight security for Visakha Garjana

The Visakha Garjana rally will start at the Ambedkar statue at 9 a.m and conclude at the YSR statue near Beach Road. Maintaining high security, the Vizag police have deployed 1,080 policemen, Armed Reserve cops, APSP, and traffic police along with rope parties. Around 18 special parties will be in action for Saturday's event which is expected to see 40,000 people.