Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy paid glowing tributes to freedom fighter and designer of the National Flag Pingali Venkaiah on the latter's 146th birth anniversary on Tuesday. The Chief Minister hoisted the national tricolour at his camp office and took the salute. He also inaugurated a photo exhibition on the life of Pingali Venkaiah.
Energy Minister P R C Reddy, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Special Chief Secretary (Tourism and Culture) Rajat Bhargava, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ravi Shankar Ayyanar and other officials attended. The birth anniversary of Pingali Venkaiah is being celebrated across the nation as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. India Post has released a special postal cover on Pingali Venkaiah to commemorate the occasion.
In Bhatlapenumarru village in Krishna district, the birthplace of the freedom fighter, an event was organised to mark his birth anniversary. At the Indian National Congress meeting held in Vijayawada, under the chairmanship of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, the tricolour designed by Pingali Venkaiah was adopted as the National Flag. He thus became also popular as Jhanda (flag) Venkaiah.
Meanwhile, a strong demand was made in Lok Sabha to name the new All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh after Pingali Venkayya. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Lok Sabha member from Machilipatnam Balashowry Vallabbhaneni recalled that Venkayya had designed the flag upon which the national tricolour was based upon. Vallabbhaneni, a member of the YSR Congress Party, noted that August 2 was the birth anniversary of Venkayya.
Also read: PM changes display picture of his social media accounts to 'Tricolour'
He also noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to the contribution of Venkayya in his 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme on Sunday where he had appealed to citizens to hoist the tricolour in their homes from August 2 to 15 to mark 75 years of Independence. "I urge the government to name the AIIMS at Mangalagiri as Pingali Venkayya AIIMS," Vallabbhaneni said. In 1916, Venkayya published a book offering 30 designs of what could make the Indian flag. Venkayya's design for the national flag was finally approved by Mahatma Gandhi at the Vijayawada Congress in 1921. (With Agency inputs)
