Telangana Praja Palana Dinotsavam: Hyd State’s merger history is Greek and Latin to BJP says Cong
They don’t respect Gandhi; for them, Godse is a deity. What patriotism can one expect from such people, asks Mahesh Kumar Goud
Hyderabad: The PCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud criticised BJP for what he termed as its attempt to take credit for the Hyderabad State’s merger with the Indian Union.
After hoisting the national flag on the occasion of Telangana Praja Palana Dinotsavam at Gandhi Bhavan, he pointed out that the BJP was born only a few decades back and the present leadership does not know history.
“The party was formed in 1980, and had no role in India’s freedom movement or the Telangana merger struggle. This is not even the old BJP, rather it is the Modi-Shah BJP that was born in 2014. They know nothing about history except how to distort it. They don’t respect Gandhi; for them, Godse is a deity. What patriotism can one expect from such people?” he questioned.
Mahesh Goud said that it was important to recall the sacrifices and struggles of the Congress party in bringing about the merger of Telangana with the Indian Union. He paid homage to great leaders such as Ramananda Tirtha, Jamalapuram Keshava Rao, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, and PV Narasimha Rao, as well as people’s warriors like Komaram Bheem, Doddi Komuraiah, Chakali Ailamma, Sheikh Bandagi, and the communist fighters who fought against the Nizam.
Recalling the events of 1948, he noted that under the leadership of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Congress government carried out ‘Operation Polo’ and integrated the Hyderabad State into India within four days. He asked whether calling Patel’s historic merger a ‘liberation’ was not, in fact, an insult to Patel himself, as the BJP does today.
Coming down heavily on the Modi government, he accused it of undermining constitutional institutions and manipulating the Election Commission to win a third term in office. He alleged that attempts at vote rigging in Bihar exposed the BJP’s disregard for democracy, and stressed that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Theft Movement’ had rattled the ruling party.
Mahesh Kumar Goud further emphasised that Congress has always been a party of sacrifice.
“Many of our leaders went to jail during the freedom struggle. Even when Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had opportunities to become Prime Minister, the party chose economist Dr. Manmohan Singh, making him Prime Minister twice, which reflects the Congress party’s spirit of sacrifice,” he said.
