Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday alleged that communal forces who had no role in the integration of Hyderabad State into Indian Union are trying to divide Telangana society by spreading hatred.
Without naming the BJP, he said the disruptive elements were trying to distort Telangana’s history by giving it a communal colour for their narrow political interests.
The Chief Minister was addressing the ‘Telangana National Integration Day’ celebrations organised to mark accession of erstwhile Hyderabad State with the Indian Union.
He said certain divisive forces who had nothing to do with history and developments of the past are trying to pollute the bright history of Telangana and derail its development with petty politics.
KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, hoisted the tricolour and addressed the gathering at Public Gardens a couple of hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah unfurled the national flag and reviewed a parade in the city at an event organised by the Union Culture Ministry.
While the Union government organised official celebrations as ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’, the Telangana government celebrated the occasion as ‘Telangana National Integration Day’.
Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy had invited the Chief Ministers of Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra for the celebrations. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde attended the celebrations while Karnataka was represented by its Transport Minister B. Sriramulu. KCR, however, stayed away and no one was present from the state government.
Hyderabad State, which comprised Telangana and parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, acceded to the Indian Union on September 17, 1948 following India’s military operation codenamed ‘Operation Polo’.
KCR voiced concern over the attempts to spew venom and create communal divide in the country and in the peaceful and progressive state of Telangana.
He said that if religious fanaticism grows, it will destroy the very life of the nation and result in deterioration of human relationships. “For their narrow interests, they plant thorns in societal relations. They are spreading hatred among people with their venomous comments. This kind of division between people is in no way justified,” he said
KCR cautioned people against the designs of the communal and divisive forces. He said people of Telangana should remain alert and foil the designs of those who want to create hatred.
Stressing the need for people to remain cautious, he said that Telangana itself is an example to understand how things would take a bad turn if the people are unmindful. “Telangana has lived a cursed life for 58 years due to a mistake that happened in the past,” he said in an obvious reference to the merger of Telangana with then Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh. He said that people had to sacrifice lives and languish in jails to achieve a separate state.
Stating that Telangana made all-round progress during the last eight years, KCR said some forces were trying to vitiate the peaceful environment in Telangana and create unrest in the state which is marching ahead on the path of progress and prosperity.
KCR, who earlier paid tributes at Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial, recalled the sacrifices made by freedom fighters of Telangana. He said people unitedly fought against the autocratic rule to usher in democracy.
