Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed his desire for former Vice-President Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu to assume the role of the President of India, citing his distinguished political career.
In an address at the felicitation ceremony for Padma award winners organized by the Department of Language, Culture, and Tourism at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad on February 4, he commended Venkaiah Naidu for his significant contributions and also showered praises on movie star Chiranjeevi for being conferred with the Padma Vibhushan award by the Central government.
Acknowledging the achievements of six Padma Shri awardees, the CM announced a monthly pension of Rs 25,000 for each recipient, along with a cash prize of ₹25 lakh that was given at the event.
Stressing the state government’s responsibility to honour Padma awardees, he lauded the event as a positive practice, devoid of political undertones. CM Revanth Reddy stressed the importance of unity in safeguarding the Telugu language and culture, highlighting the community’s substantial presence as the second-largest linguistic group in the nation.
Referring to the financial hardships faced by some Padma Shri awardees, the Chief Minister assured a monthly pension of ₹25,000 to support them.
Padma Vibhushan awardee M Venkaiah Naidu praised the Modi government for recognizing genuine rural artists for the Padma Shri awards. He also commended fellow awardee Chiranjeevi and urged the public to reject divisive forces based on caste, creed, religion, and other issues.
Movie star Chiranjeevi, who runs voluntary organisations for the help of the people, lauded Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for conducting felicitation programme stressing the need to encourage the artists who expect. He also praised the CM for announcing an award named after balladeer Gaddar for the movie artists.
The felicitation ceremony honoured awardees Darshanam Mogilaiah, A Velu Ananda Chari, Gaddam Sammaiah, Kethavath Somlal, Kurella Vittalacharya, and Dasari Kondappa. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Principal Secretary Shailaja Ramaiyer, and other officials participated in the event.
