Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Telangana on September 17 to attend a public meeting in Nirmal district to coincide with the day that the Nizam of Hyderabad acceded to the Indian union, which the BJP dubs Telangana Liberation Day. BJP leader and party MP from Adilabad, Soyam Bapu Rao, said on Tuesday that Amit Shah will address the meeting at Veyi Udala Marri. The party is making elaborate arrangements for the public meeting. State BJP president Bandi Sanjay will pause his ongoing 'padyatra' for a day to attend the public meeting. The meeting is also being seen as part of BJP's campaign for the upcoming elections to the Huzurabad Assembly seat. The BJP has long been demanding that the government should officially celebrate September 17 as Telangana Liberation Day.
Governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh and the TRS government after the formation of Telangana in 2014, however, had turned down the demand on the ground that this could lead to communal tension. On September 17, 1948, the then Hyderabad state was merged with the Indian Union following India's military action 'Operation Polo', popularly known as 'police action'. Every year, BJP workers try to hoist the national flag at government offices and public places to press for their demand for officially celebrating the day. The BJP has alleged that the ruling party is scared of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
The public meeting to be addressed by Shah will be held at Veyi Udala Marri. It is said that Nizam's 'Razakars' (volunteers) had allegedly killed 1,000 people fighting against Nizam's government near a banyan tree at Udala Marri. The place later came to be known as Veyi Udala Marri.
As part of the party’s plans to strengthen its presence in Telangana, state BJP chief Bandi Sanjay is presently participating in a Praja Sangrama Yatra (marathon walkathon). The padayatra commenced from the heart of Hyderabad at the Bhagyalakshmi temple, which stands next to one of the four main columns of the Charminar. On the day of the launch, hundreds of BJP supporters descended on the venue.