Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana took an active part in the Rajiv Gandhi birth anniversary celebrations in Hyderabad on Monday.
They paid tributes to the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi statue at Somajiguda in Hyderabad.
On the occasion, chief minister Kiran Reddy raised the need for empowerment of women and promised 50 percent reservation to them in the civic body elections.
The programme - Rajiv Sadbhavana Run, which culminated at Rajiv’s statue, was oranised by Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao “Rajiv Gandhi was a visionary.
He had not only laid foundation for the development of IT sector in the country, but also introduced 33 percent reservations for women in local bodies in the country,” Rao said.
Speaking on the occasions, chief minister reiterated his government’s commitment to the empowerment of women in the state.
Union minister Pallam Raju, on the other hand, warned the party that it would be wiped out if no introspection was made into why it was in a run down state.
He asked the party leaders whether they were formulating plans to fulfil the wishes of Rajiv Gandhi.
If the party leaders did not chalk out an action plan to meet the needs of future, the coming generations would not forgive the Congress, he said.
Pallam Raju also made it clear that it would be difficult for the party to face 2014 polls, if the party leaders did not mend their ways Several athletes took part in the “Rajiv Sadbhavana Run”, which was organised to spread the message of communal harmony and remind the contribution of Rajiv Gandhi to sports.
The chief minister presented cash awards of Rs 1000 per month for the next 12 months to the two best athletes among boys and girls on behalf of V Hanumantha Rao.
Union minister of state for defence MM Pallam Raju, ministers K Jana Reddy, J Geeta Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Vatti Vasanth Kumar and Kasu Venkatakrishna Reddy, deputy speaker Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and MPs V Hanumantha Rao, Anjan Kumar Yadav and R Ananda Bhaskar, AICC secretary KB Krishna Murthy also participated