Union Home Minister Amit Shah will officially kick off the year-long Telangana-Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations in three States of Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra by hoisting the national flag and reviewing the parade by the paramilitary forces at the Parade Grounds here early on Saturday morning.
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Mr. Shah will lay a wreath at the Martyrs Memorial before that and also garland the statue of Sardar Patel. Some 1,200 artistes from Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra will be presenting colourful cultural programmes showcasing the rich heritage of the region.
This was stated by Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of Northeast region G. Kishan Reddy on Friday while addressing the media at the venue. While Karnataka and Maharashtra governments have been celebrating the ‘Liberation Day’ for many years initiated by the then Congress governments, this was not done in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh or now Telangana governments, he pointed out.
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“These celebrations are now being taken up under the tutelage of the Culture Ministry. I had personally invited the chief ministers of all the three States and the public representatives – ministers, MPs, MLAs an and sarpanchs to participate in the events,” he explained.
About 1,500 erstwhile freedom fighters and their families have been invited for the event as also eminent personalities and ex-servicemen. A photo exhibition has been organised at the venue depicting the incidents. “We are proud to have had the opportunity to organise such an event where we could pay the true homage to those who had given up their lives for the freedom from tyranny,” said the Minister.
Mr. Kishan Reddy pointed out that his party (BJP) has taken up the cause of celebrating the ‘Liberation Day’ two decades ago and after “many obstacles”, the event was finally happening at the historic venue as the Republic Day celebrations are also held here every year.
September 17 is also significant for his party since it happened to be the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many welfare activities have been lined up to touch each and every village. About 150 battery driven tricycles, smart phones and smart sticks for the visually challenged, automatic toilet cleaning machines and others are among those to be distributed to the identified beneficiaries. Senior leaders, former MP Vivek Venkatswamy, former MLA Ch. Ramachandra Reddy and others were present.