HYDERABAD: Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao hosted a farewell party for outgoing Governor ESL Narasimhan at Pragathi Bhavan on Saturday. The lunch served to Narasimhan, his wife and the rest of the guests was vegetarian — none of the items had onion or garlic. Afterwards, Rao personally saw the couple off at the Begumpet airport. Narasimhan left for Chennai, where he has decided to stay for now.
Rao said he would respect new Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan just as he had respected outgoing Governor ESL Narasimhan all these years. Rao said he would continue to protect the sanctity of the Raj Bhavan. During the farewell, both Narasimhan and Chandrasekhar Rao shared their memories, accumulated over a period of nine years. The chief minister said it was “a painful moment” for him and that he would miss Narasimhan’s services as governor.
“When the Telangana statehood movement was at its peak, Narasimhan, a former IPS officer, came as the Governor. Some had feared that he was appointed only to crush the movement. I met him around the same time. As a former Intelligence Bureau chief and with his vast experience, I had expressed confidence that he would send correct reports about the Telangana movement and on the people’s demands,” the chief minister said.
Rao said Narasimhan was like an elder brother to him. “I have lost both my parents. I do not have an elder brother. I wanted to seek the blessing of elders before beginning Yadadri renovation work. For me, the Governor couple are like elders. So, like the younger brother, I started the work only after I touched their feet and sought their blessings,” he said.
In reply, an emotional Narasimhan said, “Respecting elders; exhibiting humanity when someone is in distress; and faithfulness. These are the qualities I found in KCR. When I came here as governor during the Telanagana movement, he (KCR), as its leader, said he would always cooperate with me. He stood by his word. He kept his faith. Mutual faith has always been there between us.”
“There is humanity in several schemes brought in by KCR. Under his leadership Bangaru Telangana can be realised,” Narasimhan said.
New Guv to take charge today
New Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan will assume charge at Raj Bhavan on Sunday at 11 am. She will be the second Governor of Telangana. She is a doctor by profession. Until a few days ago, she was president of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu unit. She hails from Nagercoil