Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao announced on Monday, that the party plans to rename all significant locations across Telangana after prominent figures from the state. This move comes in response to the recent installation of a Rajiv Gandhi statue in front of the Secretariat by the Congress party, which KTR criticized as an attempt to undermine Telangana’s pride and existence.
“The Congress, responsible for the deaths of hundreds, is now trying to tarnish the pride of our state by erecting this statue. Rest assured, the BRS will regain power, and four years from now, KCR will be the chief minister once again,” KTR asserted.
KTR went on to say that once the BRS forms the government, the Rajiv Gandhi statue will be removed from its current location and placed wherever the Congress chooses. “In its place, we will install a Telangana Talli statue in front of the Secretariat,” he remarked.
KTR further accused the Congress of committing “grave injustice” to Telangana and vowed to rename Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad after a prominent Telangana figure. “Across India, key locations are named after significant personalities from their respective states, like Chatrapati Shivaji in Mumbai and Kempegowda in Bengaluru. But in Hyderabad, monuments and institutions are named after Rajiv Gandhi. The Congress’s decision to place his statue in the Secretariat is a ‘cheap’ move, and we will not tolerate it,” KTR stated.
He emphasized that the BRS has not altered the numerous Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi statues and areas in Hyderabad but insisted that the statue in front of the Secretariat must be removed. “The Congress is used to taking orders from Delhi. The BRS doesn’t have such compulsions. We will rename all the locations as soon as we come to power,” he declared.
Addressing concerns about women’s safety in Telangana, KTR criticized the Congress, stating, “Women’s safety has deteriorated since the Congress assumed power. The Shadnagar case, where a Dalit woman was assaulted by the police, is just one example. It was only after BRS leaders intervened that the officer was suspended. There are numerous other incidents of atrocities against women in Telangana.”
KTR also questioned the effectiveness of the police in ensuring the safety of women and children. “The state needs a peaceful environment, something the Congress is incapable of providing. The government doesn’t know how to manage the rising number of murders in Hyderabad and has yet to appoint a home minister for Telangana,” he said.
KTR urged the Congress to learn from the BRS’s initiatives like She Teams, Bharosa centers, the women’s safety wing, and She Shuttles. He also referenced the demand by doctors in Kolkata for similar measures to those taken by the BRS government in the Disha case, following the rape and murder of a doctor. “The Congress should study how we handled such situations and implement similar measures,” KTR concluded.
