Telangana’s identity under threat, coordinated assault by Congress, BJP: KTR

"Revanth Reddy who aimed his rifle at Telangana agitators during the Statehood movement, is not just trying to erase K Chandrashekhar Rao's legacy, but is erasing Telangana's history and pride," he said

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao cautioned against a coordinated assault on Telangana’s self-respect and identity by the Congress and BJP. He charged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with diminishing Telangana’s struggle and identity by reducing the historic Telangana movement to an act of charity by former AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

Participating in the Deeksha Diwas programme organised at Telangana Bhavan on Friday, Rama Rao lashed out at Revanth Reddy, whose actions threatened the State’s identity by attempting to erase Telangana’s cultural and historical symbols like the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam and Charminar from the State’s official seal.

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“Revanth Reddy who aimed his rifle at Telangana agitators during the Statehood movement, is not just trying to erase K Chandrashekhar Rao’s legacy, but is erasing Telangana’s history and pride,” he said, also criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on Telangana’s formation, calling them insulting to the State’s aspirations. “Modi likened Telangana formation to that of ‘the mother being killed to keep the child alive’, demeaning the hard-fought struggle of Telangana people,” he stated, adding that BJP leaders too belittled Telangana by projecting it as a beneficiary of the Gujarati leadership, under Sardar Vallabhai Patel earlier and Narendra Modi now.

Rama Rao stressed the need to educate younger generations about the sacrifices of student martyrs and the relentless struggles that culminated in the formation of Telangana. He emphasised the importance of creating awareness on Telangana’s identity and self-respect which was threatened under the Congress regime in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh for several decades.

“If we do not remember where we came from, we cannot chart our future. History is our guide, and forgetting it leaves us vulnerable to being subdued again,” he warned’ also cautioning that neglecting the State’s rich history could lead to its subjugation once again, as was being attempted by the current Congress government to attack Telangana’s identity.

The former Minister stated that despite the Congress government using police force and attempting to oppress tribals and farmers at Lagacherla, the people’s resistance had forced it to retreat from land acquisition plans. He called it a victory for Dalits, BCs, tribals, and farmers. However, he cautioned that the Revanth Reddy government was only interested in real estate deals, but not governance and could come up in another manner to grab their land.

“Revanth Reddy knows only land grabbing, not governance. Telangana must resist this plunder with all its might,” he said, urging people to stand united under BRS’s leadership. He also reiterated BRS’s commitment to fighting for Telangana’s welfare in all forums, including the legislative assembly and the council. “The voice of Telangana is BRS, and no one else. Telangana Bhavan, now a Janata Garage, remains open to all victims seeking justice. Only K Chandrashekhar Rao and BRS will fight for Telangana’s interests,” he asserted.

Earlier, Rama Rao along with BRS MLAs, MLCs, elected representatives and other senior leaders took out a rally from the Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute to Telangana Bhavan. He garlanded the statues of Telangana Thalli and Prof K Jayashankar and paid tributes to the Telangana Martyrs Memorial.