A three-day special session of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly begins Monday to pass the bills to move the state’s administrative capital to Visakhapatnam even as several opposition leaders have been put under house arrest sensing trouble.
Before the session at 11 am, the state cabinet met under the leadership of YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the state secretariat to formally approve the bill seeking repeal of AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) Act that paved away for development of Amaravati as the state capital.
The state cabinet also approved another bill on “decentralisation of administration for balanced development of all regions of Andhra Pradesh,” which aims at formation of three capitals with executive capital at Visakhapatnam.
The entire Amaravati has been under siege by the police, as the Amaravati Joint Action Committee, backed by the TDP and other opposition parties, gave a call for “Chalo
Assembly” rally on Monday to protest against the capital shift plan.
An unprecedented clampdown was imposed in 29 villages of Amaravati, as the police did not allow the farmers to come out on the streets to register their protests. Massive security arrangements were made around the Secretariat and Assembly complex at Velagapudi with over 2,500 police personnel.
South Coastal Zone-Guntur range Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vineet Brijlal said instructions had been issued to all SPs and officers to take all measures to ensure smooth conduct of the assembly session and safety of the members and see that there were no breakdown of law and order.
The police served notices on TDP leaders and farmers not to stage any protest on the road leading to the Assembly as prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC and Section 30 of the Police Act were in force.
