Days before the Group of Ministers (GoM) looking into bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh completed consultations,senior Congress leader from the state V Kishore Chandra Deo wrote to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde urging the government not to have a common capital. In a letter dated November 13 to Shinde,who heads the GoM,Deo said,To have a common capital after the state is divided makes no sense to me at all and has no rationale behind it and no purpose will be served. Deo has been batting for Visakhapatnam as capital of Andhra region post bifurcation. Visakhapatnam has developed in geometrical progression and is today undisputedly the first city after Hyderabad. The announcement of Visakhapatnam as capital of Andhra is a necessary expedient which would come along with the final decision, Deo said in his letter to Shinde. He also cited Justice K N Wanchoo committee report of January 1953 which stated Waltair-Visakhapatnam was the only place where the capital could be shifted. The GoM completed consultations with stakeholders on Monday and is expected to finalize its report by the end of this month. The Union Cabinet had on October 3 approved Telangana as the 29th state. The government proposed Hyderabad as a common capital for 10 years. Deo,MP from Araku constituency in Andhra region,has since been emphasising ways to develop Andhra region,Visakhapatnam in particular. According to Deo,Visakhapatnam has the requisite infrastructure as well as facilities to be capital of Andhra region after bifurcation. Deo has also been demanding,among other things,a High Court in Visakhapatnam. Deo had earlier written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the A K Antony-led committee on two occasions. In August,he had recommended trifurcation of the state and in September,he had written to the panel demanding a special development package for the new state constituting the Andhra region.
