Hyderabad: For the more-than-a-century-old Congress, the decennial celebrations of Telangana formation on June 2 are just a logical conclusion, having waited for 10 years after party supremo Sonia Gandhi kept her commitment and made the statehood dream of millions come true.
Party state chief and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who made a significant contribution in the party reaping electoral benefits in the 2023 Assembly polls, thought it a befitting tribute to Sonia Gandhi to invite her as the chief guest for the decennial celebrations. Though her physical presence at the Parade Ground celebrations is almost ruled out, the Chief Minister is confident that she would connect with the Telangana people, apparently through a video conference.
Revanth Reddy also sought to pay rich tributes to millions of people from Telangana particularly youth, some of whom even sacrificed their lives for the cause, by erasing the symbols of monarchy in the state official emblem and replacing them with symbols of struggle and sacrifice.
The release of the new emblem, however, was put off owing to objections from certain quarters but the move was not shelved. The Chief Minister said a Cabinet subcommittee was constituted under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to hold wide consultations and the government would implement its recommendations.
While continuing to stress that “Kakatiya Toranam” is indeed reflects the legacy of a particular king and his dynasty, Revanth Reddy hinted at accommodating some of the existing symbols (perhaps Charminar) after consultations.
The Congress won just 21 seats in 2014 polls held in Telangana state for the first time after bifurcation and continued its dismal performance in 2018 when its tally dropped to 19. It won 64 seats in last year’s polls.
But, how did Revanth Reddy succeed where his predecessors failed not once but twice? “My contribution is in making my party leaders and people realise that KCR (former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao) is just like any other politician and can be defeated,” Revanth Reddy told Deccan Chronicle. He (KCR) turned the struggle for Telangana statehood into a successful business enterprise which made the family super rich, Revanth Reddy said.
