HYDERABAD: The Telangana Formation Day celebrations will be held on June 2 here as also in New Delhi. The state has been celebrating this day since 2014 with Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao leading the main event in Hyderabad, while ministers lead the programmes in districts.
However, this year, the Union Ministry of Culture would step in to organise a major event in New Delhi to mark the day. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest.
The event in Delhi is organised in the context of the increasing interest the BJP is taking in Telangana where assembly polls are scheduled for next year.
The BJP, over the past few months, has been steadily raising its pitch on Telangana and against the TRS government. It has declared itself as the only alternative to the TRS here.
At an impromptu meeting with party activists at the Begumpet airport recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the TRS for perpetrating a family rule. A few weeks ago, Amit Shah addressed a public meeting, asking the people to “uproot the TRS government from power.”
However, according to the Union Culture Ministry, the programme in Delhi aims to “highlight the roots of the land of culture, heritage, architectural magnificence and unsung heroes of India’s youngest state.”
The event, it said, is being held in Delhi too as this year marks the 75th year of Independence, which is being celebrated by the central government to commemorate India’s history, culture, its people, and their achievements.
Amit Shah’s presence as the chief guest at the event is to “ensure that it is commemorated in a befitting manner,” it said.
Among the others attending the event will be the Union culture minister Kishan Reddy and the junior minister in external affairs and culture departments, Meenakshi Lekhi.
The event will be held at Ambedkar Auditorium in New Delhi. Popular singers from Telangana including Mangali and Vedala Hemachandra will be among the performers. Folk dancers from Telangana and performances by Kathak Kendra Delhi will also showcase the rich cultural heritage of Telangana.
