Telangana Formation Decennial Celebrations End on Grand Note

The 21-day decennial celebrations of Telangana Formation concluded on a colorful note with the inauguration of the new Martyrs Memorial at Tank Bund by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister went nostalgic recalling the long drawn struggle for separate Telangana and the days on how the movement was taken up peacefully and how the turn of events after his hunger strike had triggered the agitation to achieve a separate State for the people of Telangana.

While recalling the support that came forward from all sections including government employees and students the chief minister expressed pain over the sacrifices made by the youth. He said the TNGOs, employees and students had faced PD Acts, cases under MISA during the agitation. He recalled how doctors warned him of going into coma if he did not call off the hunger strike.

The Chief Minister said that he along with a few of his friends had brainstorming meetings for thousands of hours to prepare strategies. He also recalled Prof K Jayashankar calling him ‘Ajanma Telangana vadi’, who always stood for separate state without surrendering for any allurement. The CM recalled Acharya Konda Lakshman Bapuji helped the cause by providing shelter to the Telangana protagonist and in the same place the Martyrs Memorial had come up. He said that initially they were against the involvement of students as they would become emotional, but they came into the agitation after discrimination they faced in job opportunities.

Talking on the Martyrs Memorial, the Chief Minister said that this place had become a unique landmark in Hyderabad and soon Telangana Talli statue would come in between Martyrs Memorial and Secretariat. He also said that every foreign and domestic dignitary visiting the State will first pay a visit to the Memorial.