BRS Protests Telangana Thalli Statue Design

Hyderabad: The opposition BRS in Telangana held protests on Tuesday against the Congress government's unveiling of a new design for the 'Telangana Thalli' (Mother Telangana) statue, which differs from the one used by the regional party. BRS MLC K Kavitha, daughter of party president K Chandrasekhar Rao, performed an 'abhishekam' with milk and 'panchamritam' to the statue of Mother Telangana at the BRS headquarters in Hyderabad.

BRS leaders and workers organised protests in Siddipet, Warangal, and other districts. Respond-ing to comments by BRS working president K T Rama Rao that the BRS, if it returns to power, would remove the statue installed at the Secretariat by the ruling government and shift it to the Congress office, Congress MLA Yennam Srinivas Reddy dismissed it.

He stated that the BRS would "never get the opportunity," adding that the people would not re-elect the BRS to power. The statue unveiled by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the Secretar-iat on Monday was approved by the legislature. According to Srinivas Reddy, it represents a "typical mother" and has been accepted by all sections of society.

He criticised the BRS for associating its design of Telangana Thalli with heavy ornaments and monarchy, claiming that the Congress's design reflects simplicity and cultural significance. Reddy also accused the BRS of treating its offices as the sole representatives of Telangana and its activ-ists as the only true people of the state.

The unveiling of the Mother Telangana statue on Monday coincided with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's birthday, adding a political dimension to the issue.

BRS president KCR alleged on December 8 that the Congress government had changed the de-sign of Telangana Thalli out of "vendetta" against him. He also claimed that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy lacked an understanding of the cultural sig-nificance of Telangana Thalli and accused the Congress of attempting to erase his "mark" on gov-ernance and other areas. State Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar clarified on Monday that no official status had been granted to any Telangana Thalli statue since the formation of Telangana in 2014.