Secunderabad (Telangana): Amit rift between him and Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday skipped the Republic Day celebrations held at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad, where the Governor unfurled the national flag. The Chief Minister unfurled the national flag at his official residence Pragati Bhavan.
The Governor received the salute from personnel of the Telangana State Special Police. Three platoons participated in the parade on the premises of Raj Bhavan. Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Director General of Police Anjani Kumar were also in attendance. For a second consecutive year, Republic Day celebrations were held at the Raj Bhavan at the direction of the state government.
This has irked the Governor, who has been accusing the government of not following the protocol. Similar orders by the statement government last year citing Covid-19 protocol had angered the Governor. She went on to read a speech not approved by the state government, kicking up a row between Raj Bhavan and Pragati Bhavan.
Reacting to it, Governor Soundararajan said Telangana "undermined the Republic Day activity as they didn't have any public program". "They wanted me to unfurl the flag at Raj Bhawan itself. No public participation as they did not follow the SOP guidelines from the central government. I didn't expect Telangana CM to attend the program because two months back I wrote a letter saying that this time the program should be conducted in a grand manner with public participation. But they didn't respond to that letter," Soundararajan said.
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"Just two days back they gave a letter saying that it should be conducted at Raj Bhavan only. In that letter also they didn't mention that CM will attend it. But people are watching, in Telangana's history it will be written that Constitution is not respected," she added. It is important to mention that the Telangana High Court had asked the state government to organise the Republic Day celebrations in a befitting manner as per the guidelines of the Centre.
The court directed that there should be a ceremonial parade as part of the celebrations but left the choice of the venue to the government. The court passed the orders on a petition filed by a citizen, who was aggrieved by the government's decision to not hold Republic Day parade. The petitioner stated that he used to take his family to the Parade ground and show them Republic Day celebrations so that some sense of patriotism is inculcated in young minds.
In 2020 and 2021, the Governor unfurled the national flag at Republic Day celebrations held in the historic Public Gardens, adjacent to the State Assembly in the heart of the city. The Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues attended the event. Before 2020, the Republic Day parade used to be held at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad. The main event used to comprise march past, parade review by the chief guest, tableaux, and cultural programmes by school children
The venue was shifted following the decision of the chief minister that the Independence Day, Republic Day and State Formation Day celebrations be held in a place that would not cause any inconvenience to the people. After the formation of Telangana in 2014, KCR shifted the venue of the Independence Day parade from Parade Grounds to the historic Golconda Fort to highlight the rich cultural heritage of Telangana.
