As the Indian government is set to release a postal stamp in honour of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has requested the President Ram Nath Kovind to release it 'preferably' in Hyderabad. In a letter (dated November 18) to the President, the Chief Minister said, "May I request you to give your kind consent to release this stamp at your convenience, preferably during your south India sojourn at Hyderabad, which will be a fitting tribute to late PV Narasimha Rao." KCR informed President Kovind that the state is celebrating the birth centenary of Narasimha Rao, who was born on June 28, 1921, in Vangara village in Karimnagar district of Telangana. 

"PV Narasimha Rao was a reformer and a multi-faceted leader who not only initiated pioneering economic reforms but also made substantial contributions to human resources development, international relations, rural development, science and technology, arts, culture and literature, etc," wrote KCR. 

The Union government decided to release the commemorative stamp in late June, a day after Narasimha Rao’s 99th birth anniversary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Narasimha Rao for leading the country out of an economic crisis in 1991. He had served as the ninth Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996.

Apart from the commemorative stamp release, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has also requested the Union government to conduct all central government competitive examinations in the regional languages.

Currently, all the exams, be it Indian Railways, Staff Selection Commission and Central Government institutions, are being held only in two languages — Hindi and English. As a result, students who are not from English-medium and students who do not understand Hindi are lagging behind in terms of competitive opportunities added the Chief Minister in the letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both the letters were written on the same day, on November 18 by CM KCR.

(With IANS inputs)