The Charminar in Hyderabad.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Hyderabad: The opposition BRS in Telangana on Thursday said it would hold protests against the Congress government's alleged move to remove Charminar and the "Kakatiya arch" from the state emblem.
BRS working president K T Rama Rao, who visited Charminar here along with other party leaders, said Charminar is the identity of Hyderabad.
Speaking to reporters, Rama Rao alleged that the Congress government does not want former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to get a good name for the BRS government's performance during the last 10 years.
He also accused the Congress government of trying to belittle the progress achieved during the tenure of BRS.
"We oppose the Congress government's attempt to remove Charminar and the Kakatiya arch from the official logo of Telangana", he said, adding that the BRS would also take up protests on the issue.
He demanded that the Congress government withdraw its alleged attempt to remove the Charminar and also the arch of the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal from the state emblem.
The proposed agitation by the BRS came in the wake of the state government's move to make a new state emblem reflecting the "struggles and sacrifices of Telangana" and also a new state song.
BRS leader R S Praveen Kumar opposed popular music director M M Keeravani of Oscar-winning "Natu Natu" fame composing music for the state song "Jaya Jaya He Telangana" penned by poet Ande Sri.
Kumar took exception to the "authority" of Keeravani, who is a native of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, over the state song of Ande Sri.
"Tollywood and Telangana movement are different. Tollywood is for entertainment and on the other hand, Telangana anthem is a common thread of emotion that brought all hearts of Telangana together during movement. It’s not Hollywood that gave tune to Jana Gana Mana and Vandemataram", Kumar said on X on May 27.
AIMIM also in a post on X urged the state government to retain Charminar in Telangana’s state emblem as it is a symbol of the state's long history of composite culture.
"It is hoped that the same will be retained. However, we should also ensure that Charminar’s surrounding areas also see progress", the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party said in the post.
The party also asked the state government to complete the development works at Charminar at the earliest.