New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday described Amaravati getting legal status as the state’s sole capital after the passage of Bill in Parliament as “homecoming” for its people, who he said had endured four capitals and decades of political uncertainty.

“This is our fourth time going through it. It’s homecoming. This will definitely put Amaravati on the fast track,” Lokesh told reporters after the Rajya Sabha passed the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, a day after the Lok Sabha cleared it with near-unanimous support.

The TDP national general secretary recalled that the state suffered “grave injustice” upon its bifurcation from Telangana in 2014, having been left without a capital, secretariat or high court.

In that backdrop, he said, nearly 35,000 acres were pooled by farmers in just 58 days to build a new capital on the banks of the Krishna river. “Land is not about money. It is about identity. It is about livelihood,” he said.

The minister reserved his sharpest words for the previous YSRCP government, saying five years were “wasted” under former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had himself promised before the 2019 elections that Amaravati would remain the sole capital.

“He specifically stated that I have built a house here and there is no way I am going to shift the capital. People of Amaravati believed him,” the minister said, adding that the three-capital proposal that followed was “a failed model globally.” He said the suffering of farmers and women who agitated for 1,600 days against the proposed shift was a matter of deep anguish.

“Women who gave up their land were called prostitutes. Pregnant women were abused. Police drones would follow them. But they never gave up their land. They never gave up their struggle,” he said.

The minister noted that the National Democratic Alliance fought the 2024 assembly elections on the single plank of one state-one capital, winning 164 of 175 seats.

“It was the people of Visakhapatnam who gave us the highest majority — where the so-called executive capital was supposed to come up. That was the people’s clear mandate,” he said.

Taking a dig at the YSRCP for walking out of both Houses during the debate, the minister said, “The party that got 6 per cent of the seats walked out. But today, speakers from all political parties expressed their solidarity and said this is just the beginning of support to Amaravati.” On the pace of development, the minister said works worth close to Rs 50,000 crore had already been tendered and the central government had released nearly Rs 18,000 crore to the state since 2024.

“The secretariat, assembly, high court, all major roads — we will complete all these in two years before the prime minister comes to inaugurate them. Phase one will be done by end of our term, no second thoughts about it,” he said.

The state government is in the process of acquiring additional 10,000 acres through a land pooling model for development of airport and sports complex.

On Thursday, Lokesh called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally convey his gratitude for the Centre’s role in securing the legislation. The TDP said he thanked the prime minister for bringing together cross-party support in favour of the state.

Responding to concerns about whether a future government could reverse the legislation, the minister said the emotion around the capital was now too deeply entrenched for that.

“Bills can always be amended, you need a majority. But I believe it will not change. Everyone has voted for Amaravati to be the sole and permanent capital,” he said.

He also pushed back against the argument that decentralised development required multiple capitals, pointing to investments flowing to Visakhapatnam, Rayalaseema and other regions under the current government.

“To develop all you need is a mindset. Out of every Rs 100 being invested in India, we are now attracting Rs 25.3, going to different parts of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

The minister said the state, which began its post-bifurcation journey with a Rs 16,000 crore deficit budget, would eventually give back to the nation.

“It is hand-holding for one term. And then we will contribute back to the prime minister’s vision of a developed Bharat,” he said. PTI LUX LUX SKY SKY