Prof Jayashankar mentored agitation: G R Reddy

Warangal: The role of Prof K Jayashankar was pivotal in the statehood movement, G R Reddy, the Financial Advisor of Government of Telangana, said. He was speaking at the Seventh Endowment Lecture on 'Transforming India – The Imperative of empowering The State' in memory of Telangana ideologue and former Vice-Chancellor of Kakatiya University Prof K Jayashankar here on Tuesday.

"Prof Jayashankar has his date with Telangana Movement, be it in 1952 or 1954 or 1969, and finally in 2001 he was there to guide when the final phase of statehood movement was ignited. Such was his yeoman service for the cause of Telangana," Reddy said. He said that Prof Jayashankar was the one who successfully heralded the importance of smaller States for the overall development of the nation.

"Telangana people have proved its distracters wrong by managing its resources successfully after bifurcation," Reddy said, referring to the criticism from Telangana antagonists. "Economic growth of the nation is around corner if the Centre and States work in tandem.

Any unilateral decision by the Centre would stall the economic growth of the country," Reddy said, advocating for strengthening of States. KU Registrar K Purushotham, Prof Lingamurthy, Prof Shankaraiaj and PRO Vallala Prudviraj were among others present.