Four-year-long AP farmers’ protest over Amaravati ends hours after Naidu’s Govt sworn-in

Farmers in Amaravati have brought an end to their four-year protest with the swearing-in of the Naidu government. Following the inauguration of the Chandrababu Naidu-led administration in Andhra Pradesh, farmers from Amaravati have dismantled their protest camps after a lengthy struggle against the previous YSR Congress government’s decision to establish three capitals.

AP’s new cabinet with PM Modi.

After Naidu and his Cabinet took their oaths in Vijayawada, the farmers, who had persevered for 1,631 days, including women, dismantled their protest sites across the villages. Their demand throughout this period had been for the development of Amaravati as the sole capital.

The protest commenced in December 2019, triggered by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s announcement of the three-capital plan, which overturned the previous TDP government’s commitment to Amaravati as the sole capital.

Moid and Naidu / X

Under the new plan, Visakhapatnam was designated as the administrative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital, leaving Amaravati solely as a legislative capital, a decision vehemently opposed by the farmers who had contributed 33,000 acres of land under a land pooling system during the TDP’s tenure.

The Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi (APS), leading the movement against the three-capital idea, organized two padyatras in the past two years to garner public support for their cause.

Earlier in the day, farmers watched the swearing-in ceremony of Chandrababu Naidu and his Cabinet members on specially installed screens. During a meeting of NDA’s newly-elected MLAs on Tuesday, Naidu affirmed that Amaravati would be developed as the singular state capital, with Visakhapatnam as the financial capital and comprehensive development planned for Kurnool.

The return of Naidu to power has injected fresh optimism among the farmers and other stakeholders who have been advocating for justice. Naidu had envisioned Amaravati as a dream capital and a global city nearly a decade ago. However, development works were abruptly halted in 2019 after the YSRCP assumed power.

Amaravati’s foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2015 during the BJP-led NDA government, with Naidu overseeing the preparation of the master plan by Singapore. Spanning an area of 217 square kilometers, the city was envisaged in three phases: seed area or core capital, capital city, and capital region, comprising nine theme cities and 27 townships.