Hyderabad: BRS leader and Telangana Jagruthi president Kalvakuntla Kavitha criticised the Telangana Thalli statue unveiled at the Telangana Legislative Assembly and accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of attempting to erase the history of the Telangana movement.
Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla unveiled the statue at the Assembly complex earlier. However, Kavitha objected to the depiction and said it did not include the traditional Bathukamma.
According to her, Bathukamma represents the cultural identity of Telangana. Therefore, she argued that the symbol of Telangana Thalli should reflect the historical imagery associated with the statehood struggle.
Kavitha alleged that leaders who played no role in the Telangana agitation were now attempting to rewrite its history. She said people themselves shaped the image of Telangana Thalli holding Bathukamma during the movement.
Telangana Thalli statue row triggers political criticism
Kavitha said altering the symbol of Telangana Thalli erased the sacrifices made during the Telangana movement. Moreover, she warned that people who participated in the struggle would not accept the depiction without Bathukamma.
She also declared that her party would restore the original statue if it returned to power. According to her, the figure representing the movement-era symbolism would be installed again at the same location.
At the same time, she said the statue installed by the Congress government would be shifted respectfully to the party office.
Kavitha also criticised the arrest of Visharadan Maharaj, president of the Dharma Samaj Party. She said he had visited Velugumatla village in Khammam district to support victims there.
However, police arrested him during the visit. Kavitha described the action as unlawful and accused authorities of harassing him by moving him between several police stations.
Therefore, she demanded the immediate release of Visharadan Maharaj and urged authorities to withdraw the action taken against him.
