AP's Jagan govt invokes NSA, Detention Act

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government has invoked the Preventive Detention Act and the National Security Act, 1980, which together has given state police the power to make preventive arrests and detain people for up to a year. The move comes amid protests against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s decision to shift the capital city from Amaravati.

The chief secretary said the measures followed request of the Inspector General of Police, Intelligence, for extending detention powers conferred to district collectors and commissioners earlier. The orders were dated January 14 but came to light only on Friday.

Telugu Desam Party’s Lok Sabha member Jayadev Galla condemned the orders. He asked how agitations to protect Amaravati as the capital city could be construed as a threat to national security. “Unable to suppress the #SaveAmaravati movement, AP govt has resorted to oppressing the people,” Galla tweeted.


The order said the extension of preventive detention powers was being issued following “circumstances and conditions prevailing and are likely to prevail.” Friday was the last day the government had fixed to receive grievances of agitating farmers, in 29 villages around Amaravati, who had pooled around 34,000 acres for construction of the capital city. The Jagan government has proposed three capitals — legislative at Amaravati, executive at Visakhapatnam and judiciary at Kurnool — in place of a single capital. It has scheduled a Cabinet meeting for Saturday to take crucial decisions on the capital region.