Congress, BRS deceiving people over Liberation Day: Kishan

Hyderabad: Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday said successive governments in the 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.

Speaking at the celebration organised by the Central government on the anniversary of the merger of the erstwhile Hyderabad State under the Nizam rule with the Indian Union (on September 17) in 1948, he said even now both BRS and Congress were deceiving people over the ‘Liberation Day’.

The Union Minister said, “BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, was opposition leader, questioned the then rulers why the Day was not being celebrated officially. But, after coming to power he changed the tone as per the orders of his ally AIMIM and gave a wrong interpretation of the liberation day.”

Kishan Reddy said while the governments in Maharashtra and Karnataka are officially celebrating the day in districts which were part of the erstwhile Hyderabad princely state, here the governments have refused to hold official celebrations.

The Centre, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, has been celebrating the day for the last three years. Reddy said, “History of Telangana 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. For Telangana, September 17 is as important as August 15 is for the country and the ‘Liberation Day’ is the right word since this was the day when people got rid of the Nizam rule and the atrocities of ‘Razakars’ came to an end.

Reddy said, “Let’s bury the parties that do not bother about the independence of Telangana and lets drive away such persons to the borders of Telangana.

Let’s move ahead with self-respect and self-confidence.” He recalled the atrocities against common people by the army of Nizam, the ‘Razakars’ (a private militia that was in support of Nizam rule) had carried out before the merger of the princely state of Hyderabad with the Indian Union.

Kasim Razvi, a religious fanatic who led the Razakars, gave weapons to them and committed murders against the Hindus, he said. Nizam wanted the then princely state of Hyderabad to be an independent Islamic country or to be merged with Pakistan and he also held talks with the neighbouring country, he said. Telangana was finally liberated when Sardar Patel took up Operation Polo which led to flying of the Tricolour in Hyderabad.

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), started in 1928, had announced that Nizam would be made the king of not just the Hyderabad princely state but the entire country, Reddy said.

Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, BJP MPs K Laxman and Eatala Rajender and top officials of CISF and CRPF were present on the occasion.