Political parties in Telangana celebrate Liberation Day

Hyderabad, Sep 17: Barring the MIM, all political parties in Telangana on Thursday celebrated Telangana Liberation Day to mark the merger of the erstwhile Hyderabad state with the Indian union.

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the main opposition Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties hoisted flags at their headquarters.

TRS leader N. Narasimha Reddy, who is the state home minister, hoisted the tricolour at Telangana Bhavan, the party head office.

While the TRS celebrated the day at the party level, the government ignored the demands by the BJP and others for official celebrations.

Sporadic incidents of BJP activists hoisting national flag on government offices were reported from different parts of Telangana. Police made tight security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident, especially as the day coincided with the Ganesh Chaturthi.

It was on this day in 1948 that Hyderabad state merged with the Indian union following "police action", as the Indian military operation against Nizam's army is popularly called.

This is the second Telangana Liberation Day after formation of a separate Telangana state.

Telangana and parts of the present day Karnataka and Maharashtra were part of Hyderabad state.

BJP leaders who hoisted the national flag at the party headquarters alleged that TRS government was working under pressure from Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).

Union ministers Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Bandaru Dattaetrya and BJP's Telangana president G. Kishan Reddy participated in the celebrations.

Ahir represents Chandrapur parliamentary constituency in Maharashtra which was part of the Hyderabad state.

Dattetreya garlanded the statue of India's first home minister Sardar Patel in front of the assembly building. He felicitated freedom fights on the occasion.

Congress party's Telangana unit president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy hoisted the national flag at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad.

TDP's Telangana unit chief L. Ramna hoisted the national flag at a ceremony held at NTR Trust Bhavan, the party headquarters. He alleged that TRS has gone back on its promise to celebrate the day officially.

BJP leaders barged into a government office in Sultanbad in Karimnagar district and hoisted the national flag atop the building. They were demanding the government to officially celebrate the day.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president Praveen Togadia on Wednesday addressed a meeting in Hyderabad and appealed to the Telangana government to officially celebrate the day.

Successive governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh avoided official celebrations to mark the day for fear that it might trigger communal violence.

Muslim groups have been opposing any celebrations as they claim that Muslims were massacred during the "police action".

The MIM said some parties are to spread hatred by celebrating the day. It argues that there is only one Independence Day for the entire country and hence there is no need for separate celebrations in Telangana.

IANS