Hyderabad Telangana paid glowing tributes to former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao on his birth centenary on Monday, with chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao describing him as a true reformist who had brought revolutionary changes in the country’s economy and polity.
The state government concluded the centenary celebrations of the departed leader in a grand manner.
KCR, as the chief minister is called, along with governor Tamilisai Soundararajan unveiled a 26-foot-tall bronze statue of the former prime minister at PV Gnana Bhoomi on Necklace Road in Hyderabad. He also renamed Necklace Road as PVNR Marg in honour of Narasimha Rao.
The chief minister announced setting up of a Vidya Peetham in Kakatiya University, Warangal, to enable scholars to take up research on subjects related to the former prime minister.
“He left an indelible mark in every field he was associated with both at the state and the central level,” KCR said, addressing the gathering at the occasion.
The chief minister recalled that Rao had become the Prime Minister in peculiar circumstances but had taken it up as a challenge. “Despite lacking a majority in parliament, he successfully ran the government for full five years,” he said.
KCR said Rao had pioneered land reforms during his stint as the chief minister of the combined Andhra Pradesh and set an example for other states. “He led the land reforms from the front by giving up 800 acres of land owned by his family in his village,” the CM said.
{{/usCountry}}KCR said Rao had pioneered land reforms during his stint as the chief minister of the combined Andhra Pradesh and set an example for other states. “He led the land reforms from the front by giving up 800 acres of land owned by his family in his village,” the CM said.
{{/usCountry}}“When Rao was the education minister, he had established residential schools and Navodaya schools. And as the Prime Minister, he brought in economic reforms that bailed the country out of a financial mess and resulted in steady flow of investments.”
Paying tributes to the former prime minister, governor Soundararajan said Rao had been a successful politician because he had always felt the nation was more important than politics.
PV Narasimha Rao Centenary Celebrations Committee chairman K Keshava Rao appealed to the Centre to name the University of Hyderabad after the former prime minister. He also announced installation of six more statues of Rao at various places in Telangana, including his village Vangara in Warangal (urban) district, besides in New Delhi.
The Telangana Congress also conducted PV Narasimha Rao birth centenary celebrations at Gandhi Bhavan. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who was the finance minister during Rao’s regime, presented Narasimha Rao Life Time Achievement Award to renowned cardiologist Dr K Srinath Reddy through virtual mode.
Outgoing Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy and other senior Congress leaders paid tributes to the former prime minister.