Amaravati farmers' protest: Chandrababu Naidu's wife donates her gold bangles for auction

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Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's wife N. Bhuvaneswari on Wednesday contributed her gold bangles for the ongoing movement by farmers to demand continuation of Amaravati as the capital.

Naidu, who is the President of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), asked farmers to auction the bangles to raise money for their protest programmes.

Bhuvaneswari, daughter of legendary actor, TDP founder and former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, joined her husband in visiting Amaravati villages to meet protesting farmers and express solidarity with them.

Bhuvaneswari, a businesswoman, made the rare appearance at the protest against the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government's three-capital proposal.

Bhuvaneswari, who heads Heritage Foods, a family owned dairy company, usually accompanies Naidu to temples or functions.

"We know the sacrifices you all had made by parting with your cultivable lands for the capital, hoping for a great future. Our family is with you in your fight against shifting the capital out of this place," she told protestors at Errabalem village.

The couple choose the New Year day to visit Amaravati, the brainchild of Naidu. As a show of solidarity with agitating farmers, the TDP chief and the party stayed away from New Year celebrations.

For the 15th day, farmers in all 29 villages of Amaravati region continued their protest against Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy's proposal to shift the Secretariat and Chief Minister's office to Visakhapatnam and the High Court to Kurnool.

Naidu came down heavily on Jaganmohan Reddy and wanted to know why he went back on his word, as the then Leader of Opposition, that he fully supports Amaravati as the state capital.

The Leader of Opposition asked farmers to continue their protest with courage and remarked that Jagan will have to flee to Pulivendula (Jagan's home town).

Naidu said Jagan was so scared of travelling from his residence to Secretariat through Amaravati villages that his convoy passes only after rehearsal by a dummy convoy. "Soon, the day will come when he will have to fence his house," he said.