The Central government is ready to fund the construction of a memorial to document the Telangana liberation movement, Union Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy, has said. The BJP leader has requested Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to allot land in Hyderabad for the construction of the memorial.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Kishan Reddy said that Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel had agreed for financial assistance for setting up an inspiration or motivation centre.
He said that the proposed centre would document the struggle and the contribution of the people and depict all the important episodes during the Telangana liberation movement in a manner that they make the younger generations realise the significance of the movement and sacrifice of the leaders and thus inspire them.
The Centre has agreed to bear all the expenditure for the construction of the centre, provided the Telangana government gives land.
"I met the Union Tourism Minister recently and explained the peoples' struggle to liberate Hyderabad region from the clutches of tyrannical Nizam rule and his private army of Razakars and how they collectively ensured its merger with the Indian Union," Kishan Reddy wrote in his letter to the Chief Minister.
"When India celebrated independence on August 15, 1947, the people of Telangana were still languishing under the Nizam's rule, hounded by the Razakars. Their spirited and sustained struggle for over 13 months after Indian independence led to a police action, initiated by Sardar Patel and the liberation of the region," he said.
Kishan Reddy also said that the valour and courage shown by the people of Telangana against the Nizam is one of the momentous episodes in the history of Indian freedom struggle. The movement was led by leaders across the walks of life including PV Narasimha Rao, Marri Chenna Reddy, Swami Ramananda Tirtha, Doddi Komaraiah, Chakali Ilamma, Komaram Bheem, Vademataram Ramachandra Rao, Narayan Rao Pawar and others.
Stating that the Chief Minister is aware of the historic struggle and its significance in sustaining the idea of India, Kishan Reddy expressed confidence that he would make the necessary allocation of the land for the construction of the centre.