The proposed installation of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi’s statue in front of the Telangana state secretariat in Hyderabad has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
As per the original plan unveiled by Telangana Pradesh Congress committee president and chief minister A Revanth Reddy in New Delhi last week, the statue of Rajiv Gandhi was supposed to be unveiled by senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, coinciding with the birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and other top Congress leaders were to attend the programme. The event was postponed due to prior engagements of Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders. However, the announcement by the chief minister triggered protests from the BRS leaders.
Party working president and former minister KT Rama Rao said his party would strongly resist the attempt to install the statue of Rajiv Gandhi on the pedestal in front of the secretariat, which was originally meant for the installation of Telangana Talli (Mother Telangana) statue.
“The BRS created an island in front of the newly constructed state secretariat building, where we planned to install the statue of Telangana Talli, as part of decennial celebrations of Telangana formation,” he pointed out.
KTR said the installation of Rajiv Gandhi’s statue in the place meant for the Telangana Talli statue is nothing but an insult to the people of the entire Telangana. “Once the BRS returns to power in the next elections, it will remove the Rajiv Gandhi statue from the place,” he asserted.
Stating that Telangana will never forget the raw deal that the Congress had meted out to Telangana, the BRS leader said his party once voted to power in the next elections, would also rename the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad. “Just as in other states, we will name the international airport after a great personality from Telangana,” he said.
A group of intellectuals from Telangana, too, opposed the Congress government’s decision to install a statue of Rajiv Gandhi.
In an open letter addressed to AICC leader Rahul Gandhi, prominent figures, including G Haragopal, Tankasala Ashok, Allam Narayana, Goreti Venkanna, and Mallepally Laxmaiah, also said the statue of ‘Telangana Talli’ is a powerful symbol of the culture, heritage, and pride of the Telangana people.
“Replacing it with Rajiv Gandhi’s statue would not only undermine these values but also erase the identity and spirit of the people who fought for statehood with immense sacrifices,” the letter said.
On Tuesday, addressing a gathering after garlanding the statue of Rajiv Gandhi at Punjagutta as part of his birth anniversary celebrations, the chief minister challenged KTR or other BRS leaders to touch the statue of the former Prime Minister.
“Do you want to remove Rajiv Gandhi’s statue from the secretariat and replace it with your father’s?” Reddy asked KTR. The chief minister said that statues of those who looted Telangana in the name of a movement shouldn’t be placed in front of the secretariat.
Revanth Reddy said that the BRS leaders were speaking in a tone of arrogance, despite being booted out of power in the last elections. “KTR says the BRS will remove the statue of Rajiv Gandhi, but the fact is that it can never come back to power,” he said.
The chief minister sought why the BRS leaders had not installed the Telangana Talli statue despite being in power for the last 10 years. He announced that Telangana Talli’s statue would be unveiled in the state secretariat on December 9, which is the birthday of Sonia Gandhi.
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