The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Friday deferred taking a decision on Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s proposed three-capital formula, and decided to set up a committee to examine the recommendations of an expert panel that had proposed it and the report of an international consultancy firm, PTI reported.

State minister Perni Venkatramaiah told ANI that the state Cabinet would decide on the proposal after Boston Consultancy Group submits its report. It is expected to be handed over to the state government on January 3.

The situation in the state has been tense since last week, when Reddy declared the state would have three capitals – executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati, and judicial capital in Kurnool.

Opposition Telugu Desam Party MP Kesineni Srinivas and state legislator Buddha Venkanna were placed under house arrest on Thursday, when they were on their way to Amaravati to participate in a “maha dharna” organised by farmers of 29 villages in protest against the chief minister’s proposal.

Former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu has said the YSR Congress government will pay the consequences for displaying a “unilateral, dictatorial and suppressive attitude”.

He also accused the Reddy government of needlessly raising questions about developing Amravati as the state capital. “It is undemocratic to prevent public representatives from going to a meeting of the Amaravati Parirakshana Samiti Joint Action Committee,” Naidu added. “The YSRCP government is creating panic among the people of 29 villages. They have created a police raj through the deployment of thousands of police personnel.”

The party said it would have called a statewide strike on December 28 had the Cabinet decided to go ahead with its decision. Security has been tightened in Amaravati and the police are not allowing “outsiders” to enter the city.