Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had planned to shift the executive Capital to Visakhapatnam by the 16th of August, and start operating from the coastal city as soon as possible. However, all of his plans came crumbling down when the Andhra Pradesh High Court decided to interfere, and had subsequently issued a Status Quo on the shifting of the Capital.
In a major blow to the AP government, the High Court favored the plea of the farmers of Amaravati, and issued the ‘Status Quo’ order in early August. The issue was meant to be resolved on the 14th of August, but the HC postponed the matter until later. Ever since then, the Status Quo on the shifting of Capital has been repeatedly postponed by the HC. Now, yet again, the hearing on this issue has been postponed to October 5th.
It is still unclear whether the issue would be further postponed after the 5th of October, or if it would be resolved on that day. In the meantime, the AP government is surely feeling the pressure of not being able to get things done the way they envisioned to get them done.
On the other hand, the farmers of Amaravati, and the people of the state of Andhra Pradesh are appreciating the HC’s efforts in trying to retain Amaravati as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh. The HC has become the only ray of hope for the people of AP, after even the Central Government released an official statement stating that it has no say with respect to the capital of AP, and that the sole power lies with the government of the state.