"Assault On Farmers": Jagan Reddy Slams Amaravati Project, TDP Hits Back

YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused the Andhra Pradesh government of using force against farmers opposing land acquisition in Undavalli for the Amaravati capital project. He claimed police and bulldozers had been sent to the fields of marginal farmers and standing crops had been destroyed despite the matter pending in the High Court.

Calling the action "a brutal assault on farmers", he said most were farmers who depended entirely on their land. "When farmers ask, 'How will we survive if our land is taken away?' the government has no answer… except police force,” he said.

He also questioned the need for fresh acquisitions after thousands of acres had already been pooled and demanded the government halt the process and compensate farmers. "Not a single cent of land should be taken without farmers' consent."

In a long and emotional statement on X, he said: "These lands are not in remote areas. These are highly valuable fields located a stone's throw from Vijayawada, right next to the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway and adjoining the Tadepalli urban area. Whose interests are being served by arbitrarily fixing meager values for lands that command huge market prices and then forcibly seizing them without the farmers' consent? To whom do they intend to hand over these farmers' lands in the future? Who are the actual beneficiaries - the farmers, or Chandrababu's close associates?"

అమరావతి రాజధాని పేరుతో ఉండవల్లిలో రైతులపై చంద్రబాబు ప్రభుత్వం సాగించిన రాక్షసకాండను తీవ్రంగా ఖండిస్తున్నాను. తమ కుటుంబాలకు జీవనాధారమైన కొద్దిపాటి భూములను ఇచ్చేది లేదని రైతులు స్పష్టంగా చెబుతున్నా, వారి అభిప్రాయాలను, అభ్యంతరాలను కనీసం వినకుండా పోలీసులను మోహరించి, బుల్డోజర్లతో… pic.twitter.com/rA7pC3hXRS

— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) July 11, 2026

The YSRCP described the deployment of police and earthmovers as "a blatant abuse of power" and alleged that the government was trying to pressure farmers into surrendering their land.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party rejected the charges.

TDP Politburo member Nakka Ananda Babu accused the YSRCP of using a handful of farmers to obstruct the city's development. "99 per cent of farmers voluntarily gave their land for the capital. The opposition is using the remaining few as political pawns," he alleged.

According to the TDP leader, the Capital Region Development Authority followed all legal procedures and repeatedly encouraged landowners to opt for the land-pooling scheme.

RECAP | YSRCP Alleges Attack By TDP Supporters Over Amaravati Land Row

"Of the 10.5 acres originally notified for acquisition, more than seven were shifted to pooling after discussions, leaving only about 2.7 acres to be acquired formally," he said, adding the government had sanctioned Rs 7.14 crore in compensation for 11 affected farmers, including payment for crops and structures. More funds, he said, had been deposited with the tribunal after some landowners declined to accept the cheques.

The dispute has once again brought the Amaravati capital project to the centre of Andhra Pradesh politics, with both sides claiming to be acting in the interests of farmers.

With Amaravati now the legal capital even as Jagan Reddy is pitching MaViGun (Machlipattanam-Vijayawada-Guntur) as an alternative, the battle over the state's future is set to define Andhra Pradesh's politics ahead of the 2029 state and Lok Sabha election.