The Director-General of police, of Andhra Pradesh, Gautam Sawang, denied permission to the farmers of Amaravati for padayatra to Tirupati, but the AP High Court has given the farmers the green signal to go ahead with their programme.
Senior lawyer EV Lakshminarayana, who represents Amaravati Joint Action Committee, filed a lunch petition in the High Court, challenging the DGP’s orders. The HC has given the farmers the green signal after hearing this petition. He opposed the government’s counsel’s argument, which said that no permission should be given to the “Nyayasthanam to Devasthanam” padayatra by Amaravati farmers as it would lead to law and order issues.
Opposing this argument, Lakshminarayana said that the farmers would take out the padayatra very peacefully and would neither provoke, nor get provoked by others. The high court gave the farmers the green signal for the padayatra on this condition itself.
The farmers of Amaravati are taking out this padayatra from Thulluru to Tirupati from November 1 to highlight the demand reinstating Amaravati as the sole capital of AP. The yatra would end on December 17th, which would mark two years since Jagan’s announcement of the three capitals. The yatra would cover over 400-kilo meters. Politicians, farmers, farm labourers, civil society leaders and others would undertake the padayatra to Tirupati.