'No need for any legislation to decide a capital': Andhra CM Jagan Reddy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said there was no word by name "capital" in the Constitution and claimed there was no need for any legislation to decide a capital and a mere resolution would suffice.

The Chief Minister's remarks assume significance as his government faced roadblocks to enact a legislation aimed at having "three capitals" for the state.

"There is no word by name capital in the Constitution. It is only seat of governance. The government has the freedom to decentralise the seat of governance for administration as per the power vested in it by the people," Reddy told the Assembly defending his government's plan to have an executive capital in Visakhapatnam, judicial capital in Kurnool and legislative capital in Amaravati.

The Chief Minister made the remarks while winding up an impromptu debate on whether or not the Legislative Council needs to be continued. Reddy claimed there was no need for a law to decide the seat of governance.
"We can sit anywhere in the state and carry out the administration. Chief Minister is the head of governance and is assisted by the Council of Ministers and the secretaries, which in turn is the Secretariat. We need enact no law for this, no need for any bill. We can just pass a resolution and continue the administration," the CM pointed out.

"There is no word capital in Constitution. This is reality. We can have the assembly anywhere in the state and make laws from anywhere as per Article 174," he said. He claimed that late J Jayalalithaa used to run Tamil Nadu administration from Ooty in that state. "Governance happens from where the Chief Minister stays. If calamity strikes tomorrow.. the Chief Minister has to shift and stay there for 20 days. Where will governance happen in that case? It happens where the CM is," Jagan said, recalling the hurricane Hudhud time in October 2014 when the then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu stayed in Visakhapatnam for 10 days and ran the administration.

(Image source - PTI)