Delhi bosses ignore Revanth’s Rajiv Gandhi statue; BRS protests on Tuesday against statue

BRS to perform palabhishekam to Telangana Thalli statues

Hyderabad: Even as his party’s top bosses, including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi chose to stay away from the unveiling of former prime minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi’s statue here on Monday, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy went ahead and himself unveiled the statue in front of the Secretariat.

The move, which has triggered different speculations within the Congress State unit itself, came after the Delhi bosses of the Congress stood away despite Revath Reddy and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu personally meeting Kharge at New Delhi and inviting him to the function on August 16. The function was actually scheduled for August 20, coinciding the former prime minister’s birth anniversary. However, that was postponed for nearly a month, and when it finally happened, except for AICC Telangana incharge Deepadas Munshi, not many national leaders turned up for the programme. Interestingly, AICC secretary Viswanath and others representing the high command had participated in the swearing in ceremony of Mahesh Kumar Goud as the new TPCC president at Gandhi Bhavan on Sunday.

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Even as Congress workers are discussing why Delhi cold-shouldered Revanth Reddy, on the other hand, the BRS has come out vociferously against the installation of Rajiv Gandhi’s statue in front of the Secretariat. Opposing the Congress government’s decision to unveil the former Prime Minister’s statue in the place reserved for the statue of Telangana Talli, the BRS has decided to organised Statewide protests on Tuesday, with BRS working president KT Rama Rao announcing that party cadre would perform ‘palabhishekam’ to statues of Telangana Talli in all Assembly constituencies across the State.

In a statement on Monday, Rama Rao expressed strong discontent over the Congress government’s decision, calling the move a “shameful act”, insulting the identity and spirit of Telangana. He stated that the entire Telangana society was deeply concerned and hurt by the Congress government’s decision to place Rajiv Gandhi’s statue in the location earmarked for Telangana Talli’s statue.

“While we have no objection to the Congress honouring Rajiv Gandhi, doing so at the expense of Telangana’s heritage and identity is unacceptable,” he reiterated, urging Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to correct this mistake immediately.

Rama Rao reminded that the then Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had selected the site in July 2023 for the Telangana Talli statue, near the Telangana Amara Jyothi and Secretariat, as a symbol of the State’s pride and aspirations. “The Congress government, by installing the statue of someone not associated with the Telangana movement, has hurt the sentiments of every Telangana citizen,” he said.

The BRS working president vowed that whenever the BRS returned to power, it would remove the statue of Rajiv Gandhi from its current location and relocate it to Gandhi Bhavan, ensuring that the site remained reserved for Telangana Talli. “We will restore the honour of Telangana by placing the rightful statue of Telangana Talli where it belongs,” he declared.

Rama Rao also said the Congress leadership was prioritising Delhi’s approval over Telangana’s interests. He said Telangana’s soul was being mortgaged to impress the Delhi bosses. “Revanth Reddy and the Congress leaders have placed their loyalty to Delhi bosses above the people of Telangana,” he said, warning that such actions would not be tolerated by the people of the State, and those who undermine Telangana’s existence would be politically defeated.