17 TDP MLAs suspended; Naidu taken into custody amid widespread protests by farmers of Amaravati

A special session of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed the A.P. Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 and the A.P. Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bill, 2020, after a heated debate and high drama including the eviction of 17 Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLAs by marshals.

The decision sparked widespread protests from farmers in the Amaravati region and opposition leaders. TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu and party members were taken into police custody late in the evening as they tried to march to the Assembly. Massive police deployment prevented several ‘Chalo Assembly’ rallies.

All-round development

The Bills will facilitate the development of Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool as legislative, executive and judicial capitals respectively.

While the decentralisation Bill was moved by Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, the CRDA Repeal Bill was piloted by Botcha Satyanarayana.

During the debate, 17 TDP members were suspended for obstructing Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s speech. The MLAs raised objections to the introduction of the Bills and stormed the Speaker’s podium.

The police mobilised forces to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control in villages close to the Legislature Complex and the Secretariat.

Vigil would continue in the capital villages which have been witnessing protests, Guntur Rural SP Ch. Vijaya Rao said.

Many villagers detained

About 700 to 800 protesters, including a large number of women, from villages like Mandadam, Velagapudi and Tulluru ran across the barren fields and reached the rear periphery of the Legislature complex. Some of them even jumped over the barbed wire fences placed by the police.

As the villagers tried to lay siege to the Assembly, the police took several persons into custody.

Tension prevailed in Mandadam, Tulluru and other capital villages when members of the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi (APS) and activists of various political parties marched towards the Assembly demanding that the government retain the entire capital in Amaravati.

(With PTI inputs)