Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was addressing a special session of the Assembly in Amaravati on Saturday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Saturday passed a resolution asking the central government to declare and notify Amaravati as the state’s only capital.
The resolution states that in Section 5(2) of the AP Reorganization Act, 2014 (APRA), the words “in Amaravati” and “and Amaravati includes the Capital Areas notified under the AP Capital Regional Development Act, 2014” in the Explanation to Section 5 as recommended by the High Court contained in its order dated 3.2022.
Chairman of the assembly Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu forwarded a resolution to the Speaker of the Rajya Sabha, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Minister, the Union Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary to the State Government to amend APRA to this effect.
11 YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLAs, including its president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, remained absent when the resolution was passed in the House.
Moving the resolution, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that the AP government shifted its operational base to the Vijayawada-Guntur region soon after the bifurcation of the united state in 2014, though it could remain in Hyderabad, the joint capital of AP and Telangana, for another 10 years.
“The government wanted to build AP’s equity as quickly as possible. However, the Leader of the Opposition, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, initially offered unconditional support to the proposed capital at Amaravati, but changed his stance after winning the 2019 elections for sheer political expediency,” he said.
“The Sivaramakrishnan Committee in its report (submitted in 2014) clearly stated that 46% of the people of Andhra Pradesh wanted the capital to be located between Vijayawada and Guntur,” Mr. Naidu said, pointing out that the then TDP government had taken various steps across the state to ensure decentralized growth.
Mr. Naidu said “Andhra State” came into existence in 1953 after the supreme sacrifice of Potti Sreeramulu and the first capital was established at Kurnool before it was shifted to Hyderabad after the creation of “Andhra Pradesh” in 1956. The capital shifted to Amaravati after bifurcation.
“The YSRCP government stopped the development of Amaravati during its tenure, for which it paid a heavy price in the 2024 elections. However, it continued its brutal campaign (against the capital city). As people can no longer bear the uncertainty, we move this resolution so that ‘Amaravati cannot be moved an inch in future.’
The Chief Minister noted that at the time of bifurcation, he fought for “equal justice” for both Telangana and the remaining state of Andhra Pradesh, while Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy focused on “protecting his political interests”.
Mr. Naidu said he envisions Amaravati as an economic powerhouse for the entire state and is indebted to more than 29,000 farmers who have given away around 34,000 acres for the capital project in just 58 days.
Published – 28 March 2026 19:37 IST
