Congress, TDP, BJP support bill to recognise Amaravati as Andhra Pradesh capital; YSRCP opposes

New Delhi: The Congress and the BJP as well as the TDP on Wednesday came out in support of a bill seeking to recognise Amaravati as the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh and said they want growth of a permanent capital of the southern state.

Initiating the debate on the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha, Congress member Manickam Tagore said the Congress fully supports the legislation but wants according special status to Andhra Pradesh, which is the successor state of the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh following the creation of Telangana.

"Let Amaravati develop like Bangalore, Chennai or Hyderabad. Let Vishakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kurnool also develop. We support Amaravati as the permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh," he said.

Participating in the debate, TDP member and Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani also appealed to the House to pass the bill unanimously as it will ensure a permanent capital for Andhra Pradesh.

Supporting the bill, BJP member C M Ramesh said this is the first time in the history of independent India that a bill has been brought to Parliament to declare a particular place as the capital of a state.

From now onwards, "no one will be able to play" with the capital of Andhra Pradesh as Amaravati will be the sole and permanent capital of the state, he said.

Ramesh slammed the earlier state government's move to make three capitals of Andhra Pradesh and termed the decision "illogical and irrational".

"This bill will ensure that no one will play with the capital of Andhra Pradesh. We want a permanent capital for Andhra Pradesh and then there will be revenue and the state will flourish," he said.

However, TDP's arch rival in Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party, strongly opposed the legislation and said it has no meaning unless the interests of the farmers are protected and a definite timeline is given for compensation to the farmers.

YSRCP member P V Midhun Reddy said 34,000 acres were acquired by the state government for the development of Amaravati as the capital with the promise of giving free developed plots, housing scheme, free education for the children of the affected people. However, nothing has been given to them so far.

"They are not bothered about farmers. Give a specific date, a specific timeline - when the plots will be given to the farmers. Incorporate all these points in the bill, otherwise there is no meaning," he said.

Reddy alleged that the state's TDP government is not concerned from where the huge amount of funds would come for the development of such a large capital.

"You want to develop a capital bigger than Kolkata but there is no clue from where the funds will come," he said.

The YSRCP MP justified the decision of his party's government, which ruled the state from 2019 to 2024, of planning to develop three capitals saying it was nothing new as there were many such examples globally.

"We want the concerns of the farmers protected in the bill. There should be a definite timeline. Otherwise this bill in present form has no purpose. We have no opposition to Amravati as such. But everything has to be clear," he said.

According to the Bill circulated among Lok Sabha members, the provisions of the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act provide that on and from the appointed day, Hyderabad will be the common capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a period not exceeding 10 years.

After which, Hyderabad will be the capital of Telangana, and there will be a new capital for the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.

After the reorganisation law came into being, the Andhra Pradesh government, "after due consideration, consultation, and planning, identified and notified 'Amaravati' as the new capital of that state," the bill noted.

Once the bill becomes an Act, Amravati will be legally recognised as the capital of Andhra Pradesh with effect from June 2, 2024.

It said significant administrative and legislative measures have been undertaken, besides the infrastructural developments in and around Amaravati, with the objective of establishing it as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.

It observed that on March 28, the state legislative assembly passed a resolution requesting the Centre to amend Section 5 of the Reorganisation Act to incorporate the name of "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.

To give effect to the resolution of the state legislative assembly, and to provide "statutory clarity regarding the capital" of AP, the bill proposes to amend sub-section (2) of section 5 of the reorganisation law to incorporate the name of "Amaravati" as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh with effect from June 2, 2024.