Union minister and senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya on Sunday said that "the Telangana government should officially celebrate ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ on September 17, even as the Telangana Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) insisted it be celebrated as Integration Day".

“Our (BJP) stand is clear that Telangana government should officially celebrate September 17 as Hyderabad Liberation Day,” Dattatreya said on the sidelines of a round-table conference for Official Celebration of September 17 by Telangana government’ in Hyderabad.

The ruling TRS in Telangana, however, has rejected the suggestion and said "it’s a merger, and not a liberation day."

T-JAC chairman M Kodandaram said "a significant event in Hyderabad’s history September 17 was forgotten."

“September 17, 1948, was the day when the Hyderabad state, which was under the Nizam’s rule, was integrated into the Indian Union. That has lot of significance…Nizam rule came to an end and it became part of republic,” he said.

“Some people call that we were liberated that day while the others say we began to suffer after September 17. But, after the Telangana agitation (separate statehood movement) arose, there emerged a consensus that September 17 was an Integration Day,” Kodandaram explained.

He said, “Let us atleast recognise the historical fact that it got integrated into the Indian Union and atleast it allows us to take note of the local history and have a discussion about the specificity of the region.”

“There was a consensus that let the Integration Day be celebrated. Let us not call it as a Liberation Day or let us not even call it as some kind of a Betrayal Day…but let us at least recognise this as a Integration Day,” he suggested.

He said "the Telangana government should celebrate the day as Integration Day and urged the government to convene an all party meet and hold discussions on the issue."

“Through negotiations we should try to resolve it rather than entering into confrontation. It is always better to have a dialogue and evolve a consensus,” he said.

BJP Telangana chief K Laxman recently said "the party’s national president Amit Shah would address a public meeting in Warangal district of the state on September 17 as part of the ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ being celebrated by the state unit."

Also Read: Recognition of Telangana Districts on Oct 11

BY M. DIVYA SRI