CM KCR, Governor unveil former PM's 26-ft statue on birth centenary

Curtains came down on the year-long PV Narasimha Rao centenary celebrations in Telangana on Monday with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao unveiling an impressive 26-foot statue of the former Prime Minister on the rechristened PV Narasimha Rao Marg (Necklace Road).

In a fitting tribute, the Chief Minister described PV as a versatile genius who was responsible for charting a new course in the country’s economic history.

Observing that PV had left an indelible mark in every field he was associated with, both at the State and Central levels, the Chief Minister said the former Prime Minister was a reformer in the true sense of the word. “When he was made Prime Minister, he took it up as a challenge and successfully ran the minority government for five years,” 

Chandrashekhar Rao recalled, and said the economic reforms introduced by him bailed out the country from a financial crisis and ensured steady inflows of investments.

The Chief Minister said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh considered Narasimha Rao as his guru. “During our conversations, Manmohan Singh used to recall how Narasimha Rao used to give him the liberty to take decisions, particularly with regard to economic reforms,” he said.

“The land reforms introduced by him in undivided Andhra Pradesh set an example to other States. PV led by the front by donating 800 acres owned by his family after the land reforms were introduced by him in the State,” the Chief Minister said, adding that when he was Education Minister, he set up Gurukuls and Navodaya



schools.

Stating that there is a need to follow the ideologies of PV, he said: “Time is dynamic and politicians and administrators need to be dynamic to ensure welfare and development.”

The Chief Minister also complimented the PV Narasimha Rao Centenary Celebrations Committee for organising many programmes despite the Covid-19 pandemic. He thanked the Mahabubnagar-Hyderabad-and Ranga Reddy Teachers MLC constituency voters for electing Vani Devi and said it was a true tribute to the former Prime Minister.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who unveiled the plaque renaming Necklace Road as PV Narasimha Rao Marg, said by organising the centenary celebrations, the State government had saluted the son of the soil in a befitting manner. “Narasimha Rao always respected the country more than politics. That’s the reason why he was successful in every field,” she said. The Governor also released eight books, including four penned by the former Prime Minister.

Centenary Celebrations Committee chairman K Keshava Rao said the State government had appealed to the Centre to rename the central university in Hyderabad after Narasimha Rao. He said six more statues of the former Prime Minister including one in New Delhi and in his native village would be installed shortly. The Andhra Pradesh government too decided to install a statue in Visakhapatnam.

PV memorial and museum are also being planned at PV Gnana Bhoomi, he said, and complimented TRS NRI wing coordinator Mahesh Bigala for conducting different programmes abroad as part of the centenary celebrations.