Venkaiah Naidu Urges Parliament to Grant Legal Status to Amaravati
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Amaravati, March 29 (NationPress) M. Venkaiah Naidu, the former Vice President of India, has formally requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to facilitate the passage of a Bill during the current Parliamentary session, aimed at granting legal recognition to Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
On Sunday, Naidu discussed with Amit Shah the resolution adopted by the state Assembly, which calls upon the Centre to modify the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 to officially recognize Amaravati as the capital.
Naidu reminisced about the moment when Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Amaravati, noting that he was serving as the Union Minister for Urban Development at that time.
The former Vice President also highlighted the contributions made by the Centre towards the development of the state capital.
He pointed out the challenges faced by Amaravati since 2019 and emphasized the need for the Bill to be passed to avoid future complications. He urged that the legal status be conferred on Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh in the ongoing Parliamentary session.
Amit Shah reportedly responded favorably to this proposal, assuring Naidu that the Union Home Ministry has completed the necessary groundwork, and the Bill will be introduced in Parliament once cleared by the Union Cabinet.
Recently, the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly convened a special session where a resolution was passed, urging the Central government to officially declare Amaravati as the exclusive capital city of the state.
The resolution proposed the addition of the phrase 'at Amaravati' in Section 5 (2) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 (APRA), and included the recommendation to append 'and Amaravati includes the Capital city areas notified under the A.P. Capital Regional Development Act, 2014' to the explanation in Section 5, as advised by the High Court in its order dated March 3, 2022.
Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu has sent the resolution to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Minister, the Secretary of the Union Home Ministry, and the Chief Secretary of the State government.