HYDERABAD: TPCC President Criticizes BJP's Claims on Liberation Day
TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud stated on Tuesday that the BJP had no standing to discuss Telangana Liberation Day, as the party did not even exist when Hyderabad state was liberated by the Union government under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He criticized the BJP for trying to claim Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's legacy.
Speaking after hoisting the national flag at Gandhi Bhavan during the Praja Palana Day celebrations—marking the merger of Hyderabad state with the Indian Union on September 17, 1948—Mahesh accused the BJP of engaging in "decadent" politics surrounding Telangana Liberation Day. He emphasized that the BJP played no role in the freedom struggle and noted that BJP-affiliated organizations had previously supported British rule.
“How is Vallabhbhai Patel connected to the BJP?” he asked, asserting that the party had no moral authority to discuss Patel or Telangana Liberation Day. He urged his party members to choose between succumbing to the BJP's "divisive politics" or continuing with their own "welfare and development" agenda.
Mahesh also criticized former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, alleging that the BRS government had largely overlooked the significance of September 17. He took issue with BRS leaders for opposing the installation of a statue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in front of the Secretariat, questioning the decency of BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao. He asked Rama Rao if he had forgotten the contributions of Telangana Talli during the BRS’s decade in power.