Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday said people must preserve and promote Telangana’s culture for the younger generations, as the unique traditions unite the people irrespective of their caste, creed and economic differences. He said this oneness of Telangana society could be seen in the rural areas during festivals like Dasara, where people from all sections of the society set aside all their differences and greet each other.
Revanth Reddy recalled how the Alai Balai meeting was launched by Dattatreya in 2005, when the separate Telangana movement was facing setbacks, and had united leaders from all political parties on a single platform. This led to the formation of `Political JAC’ which later steered the movement to achieve separate statehood.
Revanth Reddy also pointed out that the Alai Balai meeting had helped to revive unique traditions and practices of Telangana.
He was speaking at the Alai Balai event organised at Exhibition Grounds by Haryana Governor Bandaru Datttreya’s daughter Bandaru Vijayalaxmi, which was started her father 19 years ago.
Revanth Reddy pointed out that the state government, including himself, ministers D. Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, and even TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud were taking part in the programme to send out a message that political differences would not deter them in taking the state forward and to convey a firm message that 'all are equal’.
Former vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, speaking at the event, said that everyone in a family and in society must act as a bridge to promote brotherhood and unity. “They must take it as social responsibility,” Naidu said.
“Unity does not mean everyone must stand by a single agenda. It also means respecting the likes and dislikes of others too. The festivals in India not only reflect the spiritual importance, they also convey the social message of unity and brotherhood. The lack of unity led the country to stay under foreign rule for hundreds of years,” the former vice-president said.
“The mad craze for western culture and practices is also giving a solitary lifestyle instead of collective living. If this condition has to change, one must realise the greatness of Indian culture and tradition and adopt them,” he said.
Earlier, Haryana Governor Dattatreya said his home state of Telangana was very dear to him, though he was occupying the office of Governor of Haryana.
He appealed to Chief Ministers Revanth Reddy of Telangana and Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh to join hands to make two Telugu states number one on all fronts. Dattatreya felicitated 10 prominent personalities who excelled in different fields for their service to society.
The event was attended by Governors Jishnu Dev Varma (Telangana), Haribhau Bagade (Rajasthan), Gurmit Singh (Uttarakhand), Ch Vijayashankar (Meghalaya), Union minister G. Kishan Reddy, Union minister of state Bandi Sanjay, former Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and leaders from different political parties including TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud, former minister K. Jana Reddy, former Congress MP V. Hanmanth Rao, BRS leaders Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Srinivas Goud, CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambashiva Rao and Telangana Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari.
The artists from different art forms of Telangana and artisans engaged in pottery, blacksmith, handloom and carpentry exhibited their skills and art works at different stalls.
