BJP, BRS to make best use of Hyderabad merger in poll-bound Telangana

Telangana: Telangana, the poll-bound state will witness hectic activity on September 17, Sunday, the merger day of Hyderabad princely State into the Indian Union in 1948, with the BJP, ruling BRS and AIMIM having lined up separate events to mark the day.

September 17 is interpreted differently by different parties in Telangana. It is Liberation Day, Integration Day, Merger Day, Betrayal Day, or Independence Day, depending on the parties. However, the political parties want to utilise it maximum for the upcoming elections this year.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the 'Hyderabad Liberation Day' event, organised by the Central government to mark the merger day. The event is scheduled to be held at the Parade Grounds in the city. Shah had attended the celebrations last year as well which were organised officially by the Centre for the first time.

Separately, ruling BRS founder and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will be participating in the "National Integration Day," organised by the state government to mark the merger.

The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM would organise a 'Tiranga bike rally' followed by a public meeting on Sunday to commemorate "National Integration Day".

Meanwhile, the Congress, holding its Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday and an extended session on Sunday in the city, accused the BJP and BRS of colluding to create obstacles for its meeting.

The BJP celebrates September 17 as "Telangana Liberation Day", to commemorate the region's freedom from the then Nizam rule. The saffron party has been fighting for its official celebration by the government for over two decades now.

It has been critical of the incumbent BRS government for not organising an official function despite being in favour of it during the Telangana statehood agitation.

The CPI has been conducting week-long celebrations of the "Telangana armed struggle," contending that the movement spearheaded by the Communists led to the merger of the Nizam's Hyderabad State with the Indian Union.

The party would organise a public meeting at Tukkuguda on the city outskirts on Sunday evening where it would announce its 'guarantees' for the coming Assembly polls in Telangana, which comes months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The party, which registered an emphatic win in the Karnataka elections in May, had earlier promised five 'guarantees' including monthly assistance to women, free bus travel for them and unemployment dole.

With inputs from PTI