Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has, on Wednesday, cleared the air around the celebration of September 17 as ‘Telangana Liberation Day’, and ruled out the possibility of any such celebration.
The historic event can only be termed as “transition from monarchy to democracy” and not as liberation, he said, answering to legislator G. Kishan Reddy’s query.
BJP wished to portray the day as “liberation from Muslim rule”, and it is not the government’s wish to antagonise any particular community, he asserted, while pointing out various other terms to describe the day as “accession day” and also “day of betrayal”.
Admitting that the party had once demanded for the day to be observed as “liberation day”, Mr.Rao said it was not the government’s priority. June 2,when Telangana emerged as separate state, is of more prominence than September 17, he said. “Officially, we have decided not to celebrate the day, and create the irritation you desire. If you come to power, you may celebrate it,” he said.
