Telangana Congress paid rich tributes to the late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on his 73rd birth anniversary on Friday with the party leaders and his followers referring to him as architect of the welfare programmes in the combined Andhra Pradesh.
Top leaders including TPCC president, A. Revanth Reddy; CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka; TPCC working presidents Anjan Kumar Yadav and Mahesh Kumar Goud; former PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah; AICC secretary N.S. Bose Raju; senior leaders Shabbir Ali, Dasoju Sravan, Mallu Ravi and Kusuma Kumar garlanded the YSR statue at Panjagutta early in the morning.
Mr. Revanth Reddy said the absence of YSR was felt by everyone and he would have taken both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao to task for their anti-people governance. Recalling the schemes, he said the free power to agriculture was made possible by YSR shattering all the myths around it.
He said YSR’s wish was to see Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister of the country and the Telangana Congress would always remember and work to fulfil his wish. He said it was unfortunate that there was no memorial for YSR in Hyderabad and it would be a reality once Congress comes to power. Who can forget Jalayagnam, free power, reservations to Muslims and fee reimbursement that were all shaped up by YSR changing the very character of the state then.
Mr. Vikramarka said that the Arogyasri and fee reimbursement schemes of the YSR government were historic and changed the lives of people in the combined Andhra Pradesh adding that the four per cent reservation to poor Muslims has pushed the community to a different level. All the governments in the country were now following these schemes proving what a visionary YSR was, he said.
‘Contribution to Hyderabad’
Former PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah recalled the contribution of YSR to Hyderabad city like the Metro Rail and the Outer Ring Road apart from the growth of the IT sector. Addressing a press conference he described YSR as a legend who connected people. His concern for poor people was reflected when his first signature as Chief Minister was on the file related to free power to farmers.
Comparing KCR with YSR, he said KCR’s first four signatures as CM were on increasing medical colleges’ capitation fees, increasing cement prices, purchasing new vehicles for the police and farm loan waiver that was implemented only partially.
