G Kishan Reddy (right).
Credit: PTI Photo
Hyderabad: Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday said successive governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh and after the formation of Telangana refused to officially celebrate the 'Hyderabad Liberation Day' on September 17 due to appeasement and vote bank politics.
He was speaking at the celebration organised by the Central government on the anniversary of the merger of the erstwhile Hyderabad State under Nizam rule with the Indian Union (on September 17) in 1948.
"KCR (BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao), when he was opposition leader, questioned the then rulers why the Day was not being celebrated officially. But, he changed the tone after becoming Telangana chief minister. As per the orders of his ally AIMIM, he gave a wrong interpretation of the liberation day," Reddy said.
Both BRS and Congress are deceiving people over 'Liberation Day', he alleged.
While the governments in Maharashtra and Karnataka are officially celebrating the day in districts which were part of the erstwhile Hyderabad princely state, the governments in Telangana and in undivided Andhra Pradesh have refused to hold official celebrations, he said.
The Centre, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, has been celebrating the day since the last three years, even though the state government is not organising an official event, he said.
"Our Telangana history was suppressed, twisted and people were misled. Facts were hidden with bad intentions for the sake of vote bank politics and appeasement," he said.
The future of a society can be built only if facts of history are known. The future generations should be made aware of history, he said.
For Telangana, September 17 is as important as August 15 is for the country, he said.
He asserted that 'Liberation Day' is the right word to celebrate the occasion as it was the day people got rid of the Nizam rule and the atrocities of 'Razakars' (armed supporters of Nizam rule) came to an end and any other name given to the day cannot be supported, Reddy said.
"Let's bury the parties that do not bother about the independence of Telangana and let's drive away such persons to the borders of Telangana. Let's move ahead with self-respect and self-confidence," he said.
September 17, 1948, is interpreted differently by different parties in Telangana. While the BJP calls it a 'liberation day', the previous BRS regime had celebrated the day as 'National Integration Day'. The incumbent Congress government organised 'Telangana Praja Palana Dinotsavam" (celebration of people's governance day) on Tuesday.