Centre, Telangana govt vie to hog limelight on September 17 celebrations

Hyderabad: The TRS leadership is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the state government's Telangana Integration Day celebrations from September 16 to 18 eclipses the Centre's Telangana Liberation Day celebrations on September 17.

Both TRS and BJP are competing with each other to gain an upper hand on D-Day.

As part of a massive publicity blitzkrieg that is to be unleashed to ‘capture’ the attention of the general public for the three-day celebrations, ministers, ruling party MLAs and leaders are stepping up efforts to flood the entire city with Telangana Integration Day hoardings, banners and flexies leaving no scope for BJP leaders to publicise and highlight their event at Parade Grounds.

To add to the battle for one-upmanship, TRS leaders will be launching their own publicity programmes on behalf of the ruling party.

It was the BJP-led government at the Centre, which took a head-start by announcing that the Union ministry of culture would for the first time be celebrating Telangana Liberation Day officially on September 17.

Towards this, tourism and culture minister G. Kishan Reddy is making elaborate arrangements to make it a grand affair. It will be graced by Union home minister Amit Shah.

Almost immediately, the state Cabinet decided to have a three-day Telangana Integration Day celebration beginning on September 16 to commemorate the beginning of the 75th year of the merger of Telangana (Hyderabad State) with the Indian Union on September 17, 1948.

It was decided to hold the main event on September 17 at NTR Stadium, which will be addressed by the Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekar Rao. Many events have been lined up for the day in their bid to garner attention of the public and media and effectively put to shade the BJP fete.

The CM will unfurl the national flag at Public Gardens in the morning. Later, a big rally will be taken out from People's Plaza to NTR Stadium near Indira Park via the Ambedkar statue at Tank Bund. Meanwhile, many tribals are being mobilised from all over to attend the inauguration of Banjara Bhavan and Adivasi Bhavan at Banjara Hills by Rao.

The ruling party has also engaged TSRTC buses and private buses in all districts and the city to mobilise people making it that much difficult for BJP leaders to bring people for their event.