Hyderabad: Several Ministers clarified on Monday that the government was not altering the Telangana Thalli statue, as alleged by opposition members. They stated that there had never been an official Telangana Thalli statue in the state before, and this was the first one being introduced by the government.
During a discussion in the Assembly about Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s statement, BJP leaders raised concerns about the frequent changes in the statue’s design and symbols. Minister Ponnam Prabhakar responded by asserting that the opposition could not claim the government had changed the statue’s appearance. He explained that the existing Telangana statue was associated with a political party and was not official. “This new statue is intended to inspire Telangana society,” Prabhakar added.
The Minister also credited Sonia Gandhi for the formation of Telangana state. He shared that leaders, including Opposition Leader K. Chandrashekar Rao and Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, were invited to attend the unveiling ceremony of the statue.
Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy criticized the BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) party, saying they had no right to question the government’s decision. He pointed out that the BRS had removed the word “Telangana” from its name, signaling a disconnect with the state. “Your bond with Telangana broke when you changed TRS into BRS. We, on the other hand, proudly retain Telangana in our party name — Telangana PCC,” Venkat Reddy remarked.
Venkat Reddy also called on the BRS chief to teach his children to behave in the Assembly, accusing opposition MLAs of creating a ruckus outside the House while wearing protest t-shirts.
