Tempers are on the rise once more in Telangana politics because the A Revanth Reddy-led Congress authorities prepares to unveil the newly designed statue of “Telangana Thalli (mom of Telangana)” on the state secretariat on Monday, at the same time as a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) employee has moved the Telangana Excessive Courtroom towards its set up.
The occasion on Monday will coincide with the birthday of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whom Reddy has sometimes called the “mom of Telangana”.
The brand new design has not gone down effectively with the BRS and the BJP, which have accused the Congress of insulting the identification of the individuals of Telangana. The BJP has additionally accused the Congress of inserting the “abhayahastham (Congress hand image)” within the statue, whereas changing particulars associated to the state.
Who’s ‘Telangana Thalli’ and what’s her significance?
A symbolic determine for the individuals of Telangana, the statue was first designed by B Venkataramana, a resident of Nirmal district, and put in on the BRS (then the TRS) headquarters in Hyderabad in 2003.
Venkataramana claimed he drew inspiration from the statehood agitation led by former Telangana CM Okay Chandrashekar Rao, popularly often known as KCR. The BRS chief felicitated him in 2015, a 12 months after the state of Telangana was fashioned.
The Telangana Thalli was an necessary a part of the statehood agitation and was in comparison with the Telugu Thalli, also called “Andhra Mata”. In the course of the agitation, the images of Telangana Thalli adorned virtually all protest teams and the Goddess was typically cited to drill residence the purpose of statehood.
How is the brand new statue totally different?
The statue earlier had a crown and held maize in a single hand, reflecting the prosperity of the area. On her different hand was a Bathukamma pot, the cultural image of Telangana’s largest pageant.
The Telangana Thalli was wearing a pink silk saree meant to characterize the well-known silks of Gadwal and Pochampalli whereas the toe rings, symbolic of married girls, signified the filigree ornaments of Karimnagar. She wore a gold waistband.
The brand new statue doesn’t have a crown and the Bathukamma pot too has been achieved away with, giving approach to an open palm. The color of the saree has been modified to inexperienced. The waistband has additionally been omitted from the brand new design.
What are the Opposition’s objections?
The BRS focused the Congress over the design modifications, alleging that Reddy was “in a rush to erase KCR’s legacy” and the brand new statue was an “insult to Telangana’s identification”.
KCR’s son and former state minister Okay T Rama Rao hit out on the Congress on Thursday and mentioned his occasion, on returning to energy, would deliver down the statue of Rajiv Gandhi put in on the state secretariat in September and exchange it with the unique one among “Telangana Thalli”.
“The Telangana Thalli statue is an emblem of our identification, created by consensus amongst Telanganites from all sections throughout the Telangana motion. To say our identification, hundreds of Telangana Thalli statues had been put in throughout the peak of the statehood motion. With Bathukamma in a single hand and a maize/jowar cob within the different, the present Telangana Thalli statue, consists of all parts which can be actually Telangana. Why does Revanth need our Telangana Thalli to look poor with out a crown? Why would anybody of their proper thoughts need their image of identification to look poor?” the BRS mentioned in a submit on X on Friday.
The BJP too slammed the Congress authorities for altering the color of the saree and referred to as the transfer “an assault on the state’s cultural identification”. “Because the Congress authorities in Telangana marks its first anniversary, here’s a hanging instance of an assault on the state’s cultural identification. The @revanth_anumula led Congress authorities has altered the depiction of Telangana Thalli, the revered Goddess of Telangana, modified the saree colour to inexperienced, eliminated the Bathukamma, eliminated the crown and jewelry whereas including the Abhaya Hastam (symbolizing the Congress emblem). Allow us to not neglect that CM Revanth Reddy as soon as referred to as Sonia Gandhi the ‘Mom of Telangana’. That is deeply shameful,” BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya wrote on X on Saturday.
Has the Congress mentioned something?
A senior state Congress chief mentioned the transfer was simply an extension of the “altering spree” that the federal government has been on since assuming energy final December and expressed concern that it could blow again on the occasion.
“First, they modified the logo, emblem and names of schemes. Now it’s the statue. This is not going to bode effectively with the individuals, who haven’t but forgotten the dilly-dallying of the Congress throughout the statehood agitation. The Congress can in poor health afford to neglect that it was worn out from Telangana after the state was fashioned. It has taken 10 years for us to return again to energy and we must always not let this slip from our fingers,” the Congress functionary mentioned on the situation of anonymity.
Is that this the primary such row over a statue?
No, the BRS and the Congress locked horns in September after the Rajiv Gandhi statue, which KTR has threatened to take away, was unveiled. KTR had claimed that the area the place the Rajiv statue was put in was initially meant for the Telangana Thalli statue.
Reddy, on the unveiling, lashed out on the BRS, and claimed its leaders had been resorting to low-cost politics. “These BRS leaders, who’re taking part in low-cost politics within the title of Telangana, had looted hundreds of crores within the final 10 years of their regime. They don’t know concerning the sacrifices made by the Gandhi household. I wish to remind them that it was the Nehru household which sacrificed its wealth for the nation and fought for the liberty of the nation,” the CM had mentioned.
