The State Legislative Assembly, on Tuesday, requested the Central government to confer Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, posthumously on former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao for his contributions to the country.
The Assembly requested that a statue and portrait of the former Prime Minister, known to be the architect of economic reforms, a distinctive diplomat, multi-linguist and visionary, who paved the way for the progress of the country, be established in Parliament. Steps should also be taken to name the University of Hyderabad after P.V. Narasimha Rao.
The Assembly adopted a resolution in this regard on Tuesday. The Congress and the BJP too, fully supported it while the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) boycotted the proceedings for the day. “Our party cannot support the resolution and discussion on centenary celebrations of the late P.V. Narasimha Rao,” the party said.
Piloting the resolution, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said that P.V. was the chief contributor in making the country one of the largest economies in the world and appreciated the foundation laid by him to make the country one of the rapidly growing nations. Only two PMs influenced the country’s direction towards progress, the first being Jawaharlal Nehru, who was known as maker of modern India, and the second Narasimha Rao, who made the country ‘Global India’, he said.
“He was the first south Indian to become Prime Minister of the country and created history as dear son of Telangana. Narasimha Rao took over the reins at a time when the country was caught in multiple troubles with economic situation badly affected and changed the path of the country forever with economic reforms and liberalisation policies, and scrapping the licence-permit raj, the CM said.
While the economic reforms made the country a global player, the effective external affairs policies and the diplomatic approach adopted by the P.V. government ensured strong business relations with South Asian countries as well as the western world. At the same time, he took steps to ensure that peace was restored in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, which were facing troubled times due to terrorism and insurgency.
At the State-level, he earned repute as an architect of land reforms during his tenure as Chief Minister. He was also instrumental in setting up of residential educational institutions and Navodaya schools enabling marginalised sections to pursue their education. “He introduced reforms in whichever portfolio he handled and ensured their effective implementation,” he said.
Congress members Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and D. Sridhar Babu recalled the impact of land reforms introduced by P.V., who himself gave away over 800 acre land for the cause of the weaker sections. “Narasimha Rao was a philosopher, economist, educationist, and writer all rolled into one,” Mr. Vikramarka said extending his party’s full support to the resolution tabled by the Treasury Benches.