HYDERABAD: ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ has assumed a lot of importance since the formation of Telangana in 2014. So it isn’t surprising that it has become a rallying point for opposition parties to attack the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi for its ‘reluctance’ in celebrating the day. The ‘liberation’ in the title refers to the Union of India’s annexation of Hyderabad province on September 17, 1948. The Nizam, monarch of the province, was contemplating making Hyderabad an independent nation, before it was annexed by the Union. Vallabhai Patel, the then-home minister ordered Indian troops to take the province by force when diplomacy wasn’t working anymore.
BJP president Amit Shah, at a public meeting in Mahbubnagar on Sunday, had slammed caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for not showing interest in observing the occasion. TRS’ reluctance in celebrating the annexation of Hyderabad could be explained by the party’s ‘friendliness’ with the AIMIM, which can trace its roots to the razakar movement which was against merging into the Indian Union. “The TRS has failed miserably in recognising the importance of the movement,” said Shah on Saturday.
“TRS’ high command seems to be in Darussalam (MIM party headquarters) and it seems it is the same for the Telangana Telugu Desam Party as well. Coming to Congress, the only difference is that instructions are first sent to Rahul Gandhi, which are later redirected to Hyderabad,” said BJP State president K Laxman. He added that, in forcing people to not observe such an important part of Telangana’s history, the AIMIM has been successful in bringing all political parties in the State to their knees. “We will hoist the tricolour at many places,” he added. In fact, the Congress party has also announced that it will have a flag hoisting event at its Telangana headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan.
It is interesting to note that both Karnataka and Maharashtra, parts of which were ruled by the Nizam before 1948, have declared the day to be observed as ‘Liberation Day’ and it is only Telangana that has not done so.
It is reported that Union Minister of State Hansraj Ahir will talk about the same in the public meeting he will attend on Monday in Huzurabad.
‘Op Polo could have been avoided’
Activist Burgula Narsing Rao, speaking at a talk held at Lamakaan, blamed the Razakars, and the administration’s shortsightedness, for misleading the public for Operation Polo. “It could have been avoided,” Rao said. Rao is the nephew of Burgula Ramakrishna Rao who was the first Chief Minister of the erstwhile Hyderabad state and had led a movement its accession into the
Indian Union