HYDERABAD: Stating that the proposed Telangana Talli statue would be unveiled in the Secretariat — the epicentre of state administration — in the presence of lakhs of people on December 9, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday said that the “historic event will be organised on the lines of Million March conducted during the intensified separate statehood movement.
The chief minister was addressing the gathering after laying the foundation stone for the Telangana Talli statue amidst chanting of Vedic hymns on the Secretariat premises.
Stating that the previous regime claimed to have built Telangana as a role model for the world, he said that it neglected honouring Telangana Talli.
“The previous rulers acted in such a way that they considered Telangana to be their personal property. The Congress government is against such practices,” Revanth said.
The chief minister recalled that the people were barred from entering the Pragati Bhavan as the previous regime erected a huge fence and deployed many police personnel to restrict entry. “Pragati Bhavan was a restricted fort in the previous government. Today, it is Praja Bhavan and an example for the country where people are allowed to move freely,” he said.
The chief minister also criticised the previous administration for not allowing people inside the Secretariat. He said that the previous government presented Budgets totalling Rs 22.5 lakh crore during its 10-year rule, but failed to spend even Rs 1 crore to install a statue of Telangana Talli in the Secretariat.
Long-cherished dream
“The statues of Dr BR Ambedkar, Indira Gandhi, Anjaiah, PV Narasimha Rao, Kaka Venkatswamy and Jaipal Reddy, who contributed immensely to the country and the state, were installed around Necklace Road and Tank Bund.
However, a statue of renowned leader and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was missing. Some vested interests tried to exploit the place in front of the Secretariat for their own interests. On the suggestion of intellectuals, the government has installed Rajiv Gandhi’s statue there,” he said.
Revanth also expressed his anger at the attempts to politicise the Rajiv Gandhi statue by linking it with the Telangana Talli icon.
He said that it was a long-cherished wish of the people for a Telangana Talli statue that reflects the image of the mother of Telangana and the cultural ethos of the state.
The chief minister said that the statue should not symbolise the aristocratic characters and hence the JNTU, Fine Arts department has been entrusted with the responsibility of designing the statue as per the wishes of people of Telangana.