BRS asks Chief Minister to withdraw his plans to change State emblem

BRS leader opposes Telangana State emblem change, calls for focus on promises, threatens movement against decision.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) senior leader and former MP B. Vinod Kumar has faulted the State government’s plans to change the State emblem by removing the welcome arch of the Kakatiyas and Charminar from it by branding them as signs of imperialism and said he would move the High Court against the unwanted move.

Addressing a press conference at Warangal along with party leaders Basvaraju Saraiah, D. Vinay Bhaskar, Nannapaneni Narender, Peddi Sudarshan Reddy, M. Sudheer Kumar, A. Rakesh Reddy and others on Wednesday, he suggested Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to abandon his plans to change the State emblem stating that the two structures were not the signs of imperialism but that of development, people’s welfare and historical/archaeological significance of the region.

Stating that change of State emblem would require the approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs, he requested AICC leader Sonia Gandhi to suggest Mr. Revanth Reddy from going ahead with his plans as it would set a bad precedent. He sought to know whether the Congress party would welcome any attempts to change three lions of Saranath pillar and Ashoka Chakra from the emblem of Indian government on the same premise that they were the signs of imperialism.

The BRS leader alleged that Mr. Revanth Reddy was trying to destroy the history of Telangana and he was a strong votary of combined State. The fact that he never uttered Jai Telangana slogan either during the statehood movement or after the State formation and his aiming the gun at Telangana protagonists during the statehood struggle were clear indications of his anti-Telangana thought process.

He explained that Kakatiya rulers were from the backward communities of the society and they had build ‘thrikuta’ temple and dug up/constructed water bodies (tanks and lakes) including the chain-link tank system for meeting the drinking water and irrigation needs and they were still serving the purpose even 800 years after their rule. He asked the Chief Minister to focus on fulfilling the long list of pre-poll promises instead of unproductive actions such as changing the State emblem.

Mr. Vinod Kujmar stated that the BRS would launch a movement if the Congress government failed to withdraw its decision to change the State emblem. He observed that Mr. Revanth Reddy was unable to shed pro-combined State attitude. He sought to know why two ministers from combined Warangal district, Konda Surekha and D. Seethakka, were keeping quiet on the attempts to change the State emblem by removing the Kakatiya arch, a pride for them too.