The YSR Congress government in the State is hatching a conspiracy to shift the capital from Amaravati or, if that is not possible, to sabotage its development, according to the Telugu Desam leader and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

He made the allegation at a media conference here on Friday when he maintained the recent Krishna floods were man-made, and the intention was to inundate the area and prepare the ground for shifting the capital. The statement made by Minister B Satyanarayana only confirmed such suspicions, he added.

He questioned the contention of YSR Congress leaders that Amaravati was flood-prone and therefore the construction cost would go up. “In fact, the issue came up before the National Green Tribunal which made it clear that the area was not flood-prone,” he said.

He argued, “Even if we agree with their contention for a moment, is it necessary to shift the capital? For instance, now the Yamuna river is in spate and parts of the national capital, New Delhi, are flooded. Should we shift the capital from New Delhi? Whenever there are heavy rains, many parts of Chennai or Mumbai are flooded. Shifting the capital from those places is not the solution. Certain effective flood control measures can be taken.”

He claimed the statements of YSR Congress leaders on the capital “not only exposed their awful ignorance, but also their arrogance, and their designs on Amaravati.”

He said Amaravati was designed as a self-financing project by his government and “the new government is playing havoc with it. The Chief Minister, when he returns from the USA, owes an explanation to the people of the State.”

He demanded that an inquiry be conducted by neutral experts into the issue of flood management.

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