Hyderabad: Marking the conclusion of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s centenary celebrations, his statue has been unveiled by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soudararajan and Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhara Rao (KCR) on Monday afternoon. The necklace road on the banks of Hussain Sagar has been named as “PV Marg.” Nine books have been released by the Governor. Four of them are by PV and the rest are on him.
Dr. K. Kesava Rao, MP and chairman of the PV Centenary Celebrations Committee has welcomed the guests. He said the yearlong programmes were conducted in Telangana, different parts of the country and some foreign countries where Telugus are active. He said the activities would continue for some more time since the Covid came in the way. The celebration started on June 28 last year under the chairmanship of Kesava Rao.
“PV is Telangana’s pride and he is a source of inspiration for generations to come,”said KCR. He said when he was central minister in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet, the latter used to say that he was instrumental in implementing the economic reforms in the country at the behest of PV Narasimha Rao. Manmohan Singh told KCR that PV gave him great political support and freedom to introduce reforms. A great genius, PV was an eminent scholar, polyglot, knowledgeable and visionary. He introduced reforms in which ever ministry he handled either at the state level or central level. If today many states are able to have budget outlays of more than one or two crores, it was because of the visionary economic reforms very boldly implemented by Rao, KCR said.
The chief minister said a museum and a memorial building would be coming up in the necklace road as part of the centenary celebrations. He also said the government would name some of the programmes after the departed leader. The state government had urged the centre to name the central university after Rao.
KCR thanked the people of Telangana for making it possible for PV’s daughter Surabhi Vani Devi to become a member of Legislative Council in the centenary year as a mark of respect for the former prime minister. He appreciated the work done by the celebrations committee and thanked each of the members who made it a success.
Governor Tamilisai spoke a few sentences in Telugu and then switched over to English. He spoke about the excellent qualities of mind and heart of the departed leader. She advised the politicians to take inspiration from the selfless service rendered by PV. She said PV was a very democratic leader with a sense of accommodation. She reminded the audience that PV as PM sent Opposition leader Atal Behari Vajpayee to the UNO as the leader of Indian delegation. She recalled that PV after taking over as PM came to Hyderabad and said even if he became prime minister of the country he is after all the son of his mother.
