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Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy incorporated his proposal to shift the capital to Visakhapatnam in the name of Executive Capital in the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) manifesto for the 2024 elections released by him on Saturday.
The manifesto stated that Visakhapatnam will be transformed into the growth engine of Andhra Pradesh while Amaravati and Kurnool developed as the Legislative and Judicial capitals soon after his party comes to power.
Mr. Reddy had often said in the past that he would shift to Visakhapatnam even as the ‘three capitals’ case is pending final adjudication by the Supreme Court.
Watch | Why does Andhra Pradesh want three capitals?
A full Bench of the State High Court ruled on March 3, 2022 that the State had no legislative competence to shift the capital and Amaravati should be developed as the capital.
The Jagan government challenged the High Court order thereafter by filing a special leave petition in the apex court. A batch of writ petitions is since being heard.
It may be noted that the YSRCP government enacted the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020 and the Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Act to pave way for splitting the capital.
They were duly challenged in the High Court by the land-givers (farmers) and other stakeholders, who insisted that the impugned proposal was politically motivated.
