New Delhi, April 1 – The Lok Sabha passed a bill on Wednesday to grant Amaravati statutory recognition as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed by voice vote after a two-hour debate, during which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Congress, Samajwadi Party, and others supported the bill.
However, Dharmendra Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, while supporting the bill, said that if Visakhapatnam were developed as the state capital, there would be no need to acquire land from farmers, and this would also save a huge amount of money.
Meanwhile, members of the YSR Congress Party staged a walkout during the debate while opposing the bill in its current form.
The bill aims to amend the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, affirming Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
The proposed amendment to Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, replaces the earlier provision of "a new capital" with "Amaravati shall be the new capital," thereby firmly establishing Amaravati within the statutory framework.
This legislative move follows the unanimous resolution passed by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on March 28, which enabled the introduction of the bill in Parliament.
According to the explanation of the Amendment Bill, the expression "Amaravati" includes the capital city areas notified under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014.
Members of the TDP, BJP, and Jana Sena, which are partners in the NDA government in Andhra Pradesh, strongly advocated for the bill.
Minister of State for Rural Development and Communication, Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, TDP MP Appalanaidu, BJP MPs C.M. Ramesh and Daggubati Purandeswari, and Jana Sena MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry spoke in support of Amaravati as the capital.
The Congress, Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supported the bill.
Participating in the debate, BJP member Daggubati Purandeswari said that, considering the spiritual and historical significance of Amaravati, it was identified as the state capital.
She noted that while Telangana began its journey with Hyderabad as the capital, which was ready, functional, and globally recognised, Andhra Pradesh did not have a capital.
She said that February 8, 2014, was a black day in the annals of India's parliamentary history, as the bill to bifurcate a state was passed without healthy discussion, with the doors of Parliament closed and cameras switched off.
She claimed that the bifurcation was driven by sheer and pure political gains by the then UPA government.
Stating that Andhra Pradesh was subjected to deep humiliation, she said it was probably the first instance in India's history where a residual state was left with no capital at all.
Referring to the land given by farmers for the capital, she said that Amaravati will be remembered in history as the first people’s capital built not by coercion but by belief.
The state witnessed deep uncertainty regarding the capital between 2019 and 2024. She termed the decision taken by then YSRCP government to have multiple capitals as thoughtless and mindless.
R. Raghuram Reddy of the Congress party from Telangana raised the issues relating to unfulfilled commitments made to Telangana in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.