BRS legislators condemn Congress attempts to erase Telangana’s culture, heritage

They said in the garb of celebrations, attempts were being made to replace Telangana's rich culture and heritage with those against whom the Telangana statehood movement was initiated.

Hyderabad: Senior BRS leaders, including G Jagadish Reddy, T Harish Rao, and Vemula Prashanth Reddy, launched sharp criticism against the Congress party, for undermining Telangana’s culture and distorting its history during recent Praja Palana Vijayotsavam celebrations on Monday. They said in the garb of celebrations, attempts were being made to replace Telangana’s rich culture and heritage with those against whom the Telangana statehood movement was initiated.

Addressing mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan, Jagadish Reddy ridiculed the film musical night was organised at the State Secretariat during the unveiling of the new Telangana Thalli statue. He found fault with the Congress government for allowing film songs in an official government function, instead of Telangana’s culture, arts and music.

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He termed it a deliberate move to dilute regional identity and warned of efforts to reintroduce the cultural dominance of erstwhile Andhra rulers. “Telangana activists must remain vigilant against such cultural attacks,” he cautioned.

The BRS leaders also rubbished statements of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other Congress leaders, who claimed that former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao did not unveil or honour the previous design of Telangana Thalli.

Harish Rao refuted these claims, sharing a video on X of the World Telugu Congress in 2017, where floral tributes were offered to Telangana Thalli by then Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, and former Governor ESL Narasimhan, along with Chandrashekhar Rao. “Truth and history cannot be erased, no matter the efforts,” he stated.

Further, Vemula Prashanth Reddy also pointed out the unveiling of the Telangana Thalli statue during the inauguration of the Amara Jyothi Telangana Martyrs Memorial in June 2023. He accused Congress leaders of ignoring these events and misleading the public with false narratives.