Chandrababu Naidu to visit agitating farmers in Amaravati

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu is slated to visit three villages in the Amaravati region on Tuesday to talk to the farmers who have been protesting since Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy mooted the idea of three state capitals.

The leader accompanied by his wife Bhuvaneswari will visit Yerrabalem, Kriahnayapalem and Mandadam villages to meet the farmers whose protest entered the 15th day today.

Asserting that the announcement has thrust the state into total chaos, Naidu had yesterday tweeted, "TDP will not celebrate New Year in view of Amaravati agitation. We will join the thousands of protesting farmers and agricultural workers to #SaveAmaravati."

Anguished by the proposal to shift the capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, the farmers of the region recently wrote a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking a direction to "stall the process of shifting the capital city" or else grant them "permission for mercy killing."

People of 29 villages in the region have been demanding Amaravati to be retained as the sole capital of the state.