CM KCR says Narasimha Rao has become synonymous with statesmanship, intellectual and multi-linguist

 The Telangana State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution demanding the Centre to honour former Prime Minister late PV Narasimha Rao with the country’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna posthumously. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao introduced the resolution in the Assembly, demanding that the Centre make the announcement in this regard during the upcoming session.

The Assembly also demanded that the Centre install his statue and keep his portrait in the Parliament, besides renaming the Hyderabad Central University after him. Following a request from the Chief Minister, Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy also approved the unveiling of the portrait of the former Prime Minister in the State Assembly.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said Narasimha Rao has become synonymous with statesmanship, intellectual and multi-linguist. He credited the former Prime Minister for introducing modern economic reforms and paving the way for making India one of the largest economies in the world. “If Jawaharlal Nehru is the architect of modern India, PV Narasimha Rao is the architect of global India. He is the pride of Telangana and the first Prime Minister from south India. The State government has decided to honour him duly by celebrating his birth centenary throughout the year and started them at PV Gnana Bhoomi on June 28 on his birth anniversary. We also want the entire country to remember him and his contributions to the nation,” he said.

Chandrashekhar Rao recalled that Narasimha Rao who was planning to retire and return to Hyderabad, took over the reins of the country during severe crisis at both national and international level under unprecedented circumstances. He said that the latter led a minority government for a full five year term and also introduced revolutionary economic reforms reviving the country’s economy. He pointed out that Narasimha Rao opened gates for privatisation and created employment for scores of Indians.

“He left his mark by appointing a non-politician like Manmohan Singh as the Union Finance Minister and successfully connected India’s economy with the global market. His reforms changed the lives of the poor in India forever and improved the living standards of an average citizen. We are enjoying the seeds sown by him,” he added.

The Chief Minister pointed out that Narasimha Rao established diplomatic relations with the US, Israel and introduced the Look East Policy opening doors for Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia



and Malaysia. He felt that the peace on Indo-China borders for over three decades was due to the diplomatic strategies of Narasimha Rao. He pointed out that Narasimha Rao ensured peace and tranquility in Punjab as well as Jammu and Kashmir by dealing terrorism with an iron hand, besides preparing the groundwork for second nuclear testing.

The Chief Minister lauded the land reforms of PV Narasimha Rao as the Chief Minister of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in 1972. He said Narasimha Rao had set an example for others by handing over his own land of about 800 acres above the land ceiling to the State government. “Though it had cost him his post, he empowered the poor in the State by providing them land,” he said. He stated that the former Prime Minister brought reforms in all the departments which he held as a Minister at the State and the national level.

“He launched the residential education in the country by establishing Navodaya Vidyalayas at national level and Sarvail schools in the State, abolished the detention system in the State till Class VII, established Telugu Akademic for development of the language and ensured availability of all academic text books in Telugu. He was also a pioneer in starting open jails as part of reforms in the Prisons department,” Chandrashekhar Rao said.

The Chief Minister said Narasimha Rao was multi-faceted personality who was nothing short of a lotus with 1,000 petals. He stated that apart from being a politician, the former Prime Minister was an intellectual, literary giant and multi-linguist among others. “He can be considered alongside great persons like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, KA Munshi, Jawaharlal Nehru. He recreated Vishwanatha Satyanarayana’s ‘Veyi Padagalu’ in Hindi as ‘Sahasra Phan’ and got appreciated by the latter for its recreation without losing its soul,” he said.

Chandrashekhar Rao that Narasimha Rao who was responsible in getting the due recognition to literary giants like Vishwanatha Satyanaranana, C Narayana Reddy and Kaloji Narayana Rao at the national level, did not get his due recognition till date. He stated that it was high time that the former Prime Minister was honoured with his due place in history by awarding him with the Bharat Ratna.

Ministers KT Rama Rao, V Srinivas Goud, A Indra Karan Reddy, Satyavathi Rathod, Gangula Kamalakar, Congress Legislative Party leader Bhatti Vikramarka, and several other MLAs also spoke on the occasion.