Lok Sabha passed the Bill through a voice vote (File photo).
Days after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had said that legal certainty on the capital issue can be achieved only through suitable amendments to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed by a voice vote the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to recognise Amaravati as the new capital of the state.
Union MoS, Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai introduced the Bill, after the government listed it in the agenda items, through a supplementary list of Business. Earlier, it was not listed in the Lok Sabha’s revised list of Business.
The Bill seeks to amend the Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 to include the name of Amaravati as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh with effect from June 2, 2024. The Centre brought this Bill to give effect to a resolution passed by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on March 28, which urged the Centre to incorporate Amaravati as the new capital in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation law.
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Supporting the Bill, Congress MP B Manickam Tagore demanded special category status for the state, and said, “We support this Bill but we demand accountability, we demand justice, we demand special category.”
During the discussion, TDP MP and Union MoS for Rural Development Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani highlighted the extraordinary sacrifices of farmers and women who stood at the forefront of the Amaravati movement. Over 29,000 farmers voluntarily entrusted over 34,000 acres of their ancestral land to the State and endured prolonged uncertainty due to shifting policy directions, he said.
“The Bill is not merely a legal correction, but a moral reaffirmation—restoring dignity, justice, and trust among those who made unparalleled sacrifices for the State’s future,” Pemmasani said.
BJP MP C M Ramesh said his party also passed a resolution to support Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh in 2015, adding that the Bill gives legal backing to Amaravati.
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YSRCP MP P V Midhun Reddy, however, opposed the Bill in its “present form” and walked out of the House. He said the Bill has “no meaning unless the interests of the farmers are protected and a definite timeline is given for compensation to them for their land that was acquired to build Amaravati”. He said 34,000 acres were acquired by the state government for development of Amaravati as the capital with the promise of giving free developed plots, a housing scheme and free education for the children of the affected people, but nothing has so far been given to them, he said.
Backing the Bill, SP MP Dharmendra Yadav asked whether the TDP-led Andhra Pradesh government has provided compensation to farmers whose land has been acquired for the new capital. “I have a question for BJP and TDP… if you have accepted Visakhapatnam as the capital of the state, there would have been no requirement to take so much loan and acquire so much land,” Yadav said.
“Have you given four times compensation to farmers?” he said and supported Andhra Pradesh’s demand for a special category status.
