Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is all set to unveil the newly redesigned statue of Telangana Thalli (mother) at the state Secretariat on 9 December, on the occasion of completing one year in office but the BRS has decried it as an attempt to install a “Congress Thalli.” Meanwhile, the Congress government has extended an invitation to the former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and BJP leader and Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar to attend the ceremony.
Following the controversy over the installation of Rajiv Gandhi’s statue near Tank Bund which the BRS had claimed was reserved for the statue of Telangana Thalli, the Chief Minister stated that her statue would be unveiled on 9 December. Accordingly, he had chosen a spot at the Secretariat. Preparations are currently going on for the unveiling of the statue which has already been installed at the designated place.
Earlier, the Telangana Thalli statue carried ears of maize and paddy in one hand and the floral arrangement of Bathukamma festival in the other. However, after assuming office, Chief Minister Reddy had announced that the statue would be redesigned, pointing out that its aristocratic attire with crown and ornaments did not represent the image of the mother of Telangana. The redesigned idol wears a green saree according to the custom, and holds the ears of maize and paddy in one hand while the other rests in the traditional Abhaya mudra.
BRS supporters have taken umbrage at the fact that the right hand of Telangana Thalli resembles the ‘hand’ or the electoral symbol of the Congress. Incidentally, the manifesto of the Congress containing the six poll guarantees was also called the Abhayahastham. The Telangana Thalli symbolised the motherland and was an important icon of the struggle for statehood.
“Telangana Thalli was created after consultations with poets, artists, and intellectuals during the statehood movement. Revanth Reddy’s attempts to replace it with a Congress Thalli reflects his narrow-mindedness,” said KT Rama Rao, the BRS working president, describing it as an attempt to erase the cultural identity of Telangana. He called it an attempt to insult the statehood movement. He also said that his party will reinstall the earlier statue after coming to power.