Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Thursday that a road in the capital city of Amaravathi and the proposed Chitra Nagari (film city) in the port city of Visakhapatnam will be named after media baron Cherukuri Ramoji Rao.
He said that Amaravathi will have a Ramoji Rao-named knowledge centre.
Speaking at the memorial service organised by the Andhra Pradesh government in Vijayawada, who had passed away recently, Naidu said that in all the sectors like media, business, film industry, and social service, Ramoji is second to none and has always stood by moral and ethical values.
Naidu said that Ramoji Rao is the only person who religiously follows the public interest, even in the business sector too.
Paying rich tributes to Ramoji Rao, the Chief Minister said the media baron had run the daily newspaper with moral values and never compromised even when he was subjected to harassment.
He demanded that Ramoji Rao, who is the luminary and inspiration of Telugu society, be awarded posthumously the most prestigious Bharat Ratna.
Naidu, along with his wife, Bhuvaneswari, attended the programme. Soon after arriving at the venue, the Chief Minister visited the photo exhibition and later paid floral tributes to the photo of Ramoji Rao on the dias.
Recalling the services of the late Ramoji Rao to various sections of society in the state, Naidu said, "Unless we pay rich tributes to this great personality, there is no other way to thank him."
Asking the elite gathering to take Ramoji as an inspiration, the Chief Minister felt that it was the bounden responsibility of all to carry this to future generations. "Ramoji is an example of how a person born into a middle-class family can reach greater heights," he said.
"The TDP founder, the late NT Rama Rao, is also a person who was second to none, and now Mr. Ramoji too belongs to the same sect. No power on earth can overcome both of them," he added.
Recalling the services of Ramoji Rao in various sectors, the Chief Minister said that it was Ramoji Raop who suggested the name of Amaravathi for the capital city of the state. "This is the reason as to why I have decided to establish a Ramoji Knowledge Centre (Vignana Kendram) in Amaravathi," Naidu announced.
Stating that he is fortunate enough to organise this memorial meeting of Ramoji, the Chief Minister felt that the media baron will remain permanently in history. "I pray to the Almighty that the soul of Ramoji may rest in peace, and I am promising that the state government will certainly give proper recognition to this gigantic personality," Naidu concluded.
The family members of Ramoji Rao donated Rs 10 crore for building Amaravathi and handed over the check to the Chief Minister. Deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, Tollywood's ace director, SS Rajamouli, and Oscar-winning music director, MM Keeravani, also participated in the memorial meeting.
Media baron and Ramoji Group chairman, Cherukuri Ramoji Rao, 87, passed away in the early hours of June 8 at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad. Ramoji Rao was born into an agricultural family on November 16, 1936, in a small village called Pedaparupudi in Krishna district. He went on to become a powerful and influential media entrepreneur in the history of Telugu states.
He owns the largest Telugu daily in both Telangana and Andhra, Eenadu. In addition, he runs a bouquet of entertainment and news channels under the ETV brand. He had also established India's largest movie production facility, Ramoji Film City, in Hyderabad.
People refer to him as 'Kingmaker' due to his capacity to sway political parties and governments in both Telugu and Tamil states. The Narendra Modi government honoured him with India's second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, in 2016.