HYDERABAD: Days after the state government sought the national festival status for the Sammakka-Saralamma (Sarakka) Jatara to be held at Medaram in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district for four days starting from January 31, the central government seems to be considering the proposal positively.
The Narendra Modi government was in favour of declaring the Medaram Jatara, biggest tribal festival, as a national festival, BJP senior leader and former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya said while addressing mediapersons here on Sunday. He said Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes chairman Nand Kumar and some other Union ministers would attend the tribal festival, which will begin on January 31. According to him, Jual Oram might announce the Centre’s decision to accord national festival status to Medaram Jatara during his visit.
On the brutal murder of Congress leader Boddupalli Srinivas in Nalgonda town, Dattatreya, said, “All political parties should condemn the brutal killing of Srinivas who was the husband of Nalgonda municipal chairperson Laxmi. The state government should take appropriate measures to ensure that such political murders will not recur in the state. I will take up this issue with home minister N Narsimha Reddy.”
Joining the chorus with the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), Congress and TDP in denouncing the state government’s latest decision to declare crimes under IPC Sections 506 and 507 as cognizable offences, the BJP veteran said such move was nothing but gagging the people. “The state government seems to have taken this controversial decision to register cases against anybody who criticises its policies, particularly on social media,” he remarked.