State keen on new memorial for Prof Jayashankar
Warangal West MLA Vinay Bhaskar said priests of a temple adjacent to the graveyard of the Vishwabrahmin community, however, were allegedly creating legal hurdles with vested interests and that the BJP too was trying to mislead the people by resorting to false propaganda on social media.
Warangal Urban: The State government is planning to build a beautiful and befitting memorial (ghat) for Telangana ideologue Prof K Jayashankar in Warangal.
According to official sources, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao are keen on the move, with Rama Rao directing Warangal District Collector Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu and GWMC Commissioner Pamela Satpathy to take immediate steps to construct a proper memorial in place of the existing one at Padmakshamma Colony in the Warangal city.
Following this, Warangal West MLA and Government Chief Whip Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar, along with Hanumanthu, Satpathy and revenue and endowments officials, inspected the site on Saturday and announced that the government had decided to construct the memorial for Prof Jayashankar in recognition of his role in the statehood movement.
Bhaskar said priests of a temple adjacent to the graveyard of the Vishwabrahmin community, however, were allegedly creating legal hurdles with vested interests and that the BJP too was trying to mislead the people by resorting to false propaganda on social media.
Speaking to Telangana Today, he said the government’s move to construct the memorial on a plot at Padmakshi Colony was being opposed by the priests of Siddeshwara Swamy temple, claiming that the plot belonged to the temple.
“The land, for over a century, belongs to the Vishwabrahmin community. One can see the memorials of many Vishwabrahmins including that of Prof Jayashankar and his parents. However, it was encroached upon by the temple management with the support of the BJP which is trying to gain political mileage from the issue,” he alleged, and found fault with the temple management for constructing a wall in Prof Jayashankar’s memorial.
“The temple priests are claiming that they had obtained a stay from the Supreme Court, but they themselves constructed a wall violating the orders. This is not right on the part of them,” Bhaskar said.
“Prof Jayashankar, who fought against the injustice being meted out to the people of the Telangana region, was the backbone of the statehood movement. But this illegal construction is a sign of disrespect to a man who sacrificed his life for Telangana. Even government officials and TRS members are being prevented from entering the plot where the memorial was constructed,” he said, adding that the temple management seemed to have hatched a conspiracy to encroach upon the endowments land.
Brahmam, the adopted son of Prof Jayashankar, who brought the issue of alleged encroachment to the notice of the government, appealed to the temple priests, BJP leaders and others to cooperate with the government in the construction of the memorial. “My father donated his ancestral property, and it is ironic that there is no land for his memorial now,” he lamented.
Bhaskar, however, said the government would ensure that the stay order was vacated and acquire the land from the Endowments Department for the memorial. Referring to the BJP’s role in the dispute, he said: “The party should clarify its stand on the proposal to build a Jayashankar ghat. We are abiding by the court orders since the matter is sub judice. If necessary, we will develop the memorial by paying money to the temple as per the rules and regulations of the Endowments Department. But I appeal to the BJP not to politicise every issue for the sake of votes,” he added.
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