As the A Revanth Reddy-led Congress government prepares to unveil a newly-designed statue of “Telangana Thalli (Mother of Telangana)” at the state secretariat on Monday, Telangana politics is on the upswing, as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) workers moved the Telangana High Court against its installation. have reached
Monday’s event coincides with the birthday of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whom Reddy has often referred to as the “mother of Telangana”.
The new design has not gone down well with the BRS and the BJP, who have accused the Congress of insulting the identity of the people of Telangana. The BJP has also accused the Congress of placing “abhayhastam (Congress’s hand sign)” on the statue while replacing details related to the state.
Who is ‘Telangana Thalli’ and what is its significance?
An iconic figure for the people of Telangana, the statue was first designed by B Venkataramana, a resident of Nirmal district and installed in 2003 at the BRS (then TRS) headquarters in Hyderabad.
Venkataraman claimed that he was inspired by the state movement led by former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR. The BRS chief honored him in 2015, a year after the formation of Telangana state.
The Telangana thalli was an important part of the statehood movement and has been compared to the Telugu thalli, also known as “Andhra Mata”. During the agitation, pictures of the Telangana thalli adorned almost all protest groups and Devi was often cited to drill the state’s point.
How is the new statue different?
The statue originally had a crown and held corn in one hand, reflecting the prosperity of the region. On her other side was the Bathukamma pot, the cultural symbol of Telangana’s biggest festival.
The Telangana thalli were dressed in pink silk sarees representing the famous silks of Gadwal and Pochampally, while the symbolic finger rings of married women allude to the filigree ornaments of Karimnagar. She was wearing a golden waist band.
The new idol has no crown and the bathukamma pot has also been removed, giving way to an open palm. The color of the saree is green. The waistband has also been removed from the new design.
What is the objection of the opposition party?
The BRS targeted the Congress over the design changes, alleging that Reddy was “in a hurry to erase KCR’s legacy” and that the new statue was an “insult to Telangana’s identity”.
KCR’s son and former minister of state KT Rama Rao on Thursday hit out at the Congress and said his party would demolish the statue of Rajiv Gandhi installed at the state secretariat in September and replace it with an “original” after returning to power. Telangana Thalli”.
“The Telangana Thali Idol is a symbol of our identity, created during the Telangana movement by a consensus among all sections of Telangana people. For our identity, thousands of Telangana thalli idols were erected during the height of the statehood movement. With a Bathukamma in one hand and a maize/sorghum husk in the other, the current Telangana thalli idol contains all the elements that are really Telangana.Why does Revanth want to look poor without his Telangana thalli crown? Who in their right mind wants their identity symbol to look poor? BRS said in a post on Friday.
The BJP also criticized the Congress government for changing the color of the saree, calling the move “an attack on the state’s cultural identity”. “As the Congress government celebrates its first anniversary in Telangana, here is a striking example of an attack on the state’s cultural identity. @revanth_anumula-led Congress government has changed the depiction of Telangana’s revered goddess Telangana Thalli, changed the color of the saree to green, removed the bathukamma, Abhay Hastam (Congress’s logo symbol) has removed the crown and jewels.CM Revanth Reddy to Sonia Gandhi Don’t forget what the ‘Mother of Telangana’ said. It’s a deep shame,” BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya wrote on Saturday X.
Did Congress say anything?
A senior state Congress leader said the move was just an extension of the “volatility” that the government had witnessed when it assumed power last December and expressed concern that it could hit the party again.
“First they changed the symbols, logos and names of the schemes. Now the statue is made. It does not look good to the people who have forgotten the slowness of the Congress during the state movement. Congress cannot forget that it was wiped out from Telangana after the formation of the state. It took us 10 years to come back to power and we should not let it slip away from us,” said the Congress worker on condition of anonymity.
Is this the first row on the statue?
No, BRS and Congress locked horns in September when they unveiled a statue of Rajiv Gandhi, which KTR threatened to remove. KTR had claimed that the place where Rajiv’s statue was installed was originally meant for the Telangana thalli statue.
Reddy, at the unveiling, lashed out at the BRS, and claimed that its leaders had resorted to cheap politics. “These BRS leaders playing cheap politics in the name of Telangana have looted thousands of crores in the last 10 years of their rule. They have no idea about the sacrifices made by the Gandhi family. I want to remind them that it was the Nehru family who sacrificed their wealth for the country and fought for the freedom of the country. ,” said the Chief Minister.