Opposition Parties Target Sep 17 for Political Mileage in Telangana

Hyderabad: Even though the State government has announced that it will observe September 17 as National Integration Day, marking the merger of Telangana with the Indian Union and without any political connotations, Opposition parties appear to be trying to score political mileage from the day.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been at the forefront of such attempts, with the BJP-led Centre once again announcing an “official” program titled Liberation Day at Parade Grounds here. The BJP’s decision to commemorate the day comes in the wake of a perceived direct contest between the ruling BRS and the Congress, pushing the saffron party almost into oblivion, and forcing it to make some noise to make its presence felt.

The BJP has been observing September 17 as Hyderabad Liberation Day and last year, the Centre officially celebrated the event and organized a public meeting at Parade Grounds, which was addressed by Amit Shah.

Sources said since the public meeting addressed by Shah in Khammam last month could not generate the desired results for the party, it now wants to turn the September 17 public meeting into a political focal point and intensify its election campaign in the State.

This comes in the wake of the widening internal rifts among various factions in the party, followed by a change of guard in the State, which have completely weakened the party in the State.

On the other hand, the Congress is planning a series of events, including a rally and a public meeting to woo voters and derive political mileage from the day ahead of the Assembly elections. Beginning with the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting on September 16, the Congress is planning to organize a public meeting on September 17 at Tukkuguda, with Sonia Gandhi expected to declare the party’s ‘five guarantees’ on the occasion, using the day just like the BJP to launch its election campaign.

Claiming that Congress had played a significant role in the merger of Hyderabad State into the Indian Union, TPCC vice president G Niranjan said the BJP was considering itself the sole competent party to organize programs on September 17.

The people of Telangana were observing the BJP’s tactics of distorting history. The BJP did not even exist then and had no role in the merger but was now raising slogans to derive political mileage, he said in a statement here on Sunday.

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