Vice President of India CP Radhakrishnan hoisted the national flag and paid floral tributes to the statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel and inspected the parade at the Hyderabad Liberation Day celebration at Parade Grounds on Thursday.
Hyderabad: As Telangana marked 78 years of Hyderabad’s merger with the Indian Union, Vice-President C.P. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s vision for the country, he said the goal was to build a developed India by 2047.
Equal rights, opportunities and dignity for all citizens were essential to strengthening national unity, he said. He said the decline of Naxalism had contributed to development and employment generation, particularly in states such as Chhattisgarh. Liberation Day, he said, was an occasion to reaffirm the commitment to national unity, integrity and democratic values. Union tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said Hyderabad and Jodhpur shared a deep historical bond shaped by the struggle against Nizam’s rule and the movement for integration with India. The Union minister said he had come to Hyderabad as a representative of Jodhpur and recalled the sacrifices of numerous warriors and freedom fighters who worked to ensure that Telangana became part of the Indian Union.
Paying tribute to those who participated in the liberation movement, the Vice-President remembered students, ordinary citizens and freedom fighters who laid down their lives, including Ramji Gond, Komaram Bheem and Turrebaz Khan. The Vice-President also highlighted the role played by central forces during the integration of the princely states and in maintaining peace and security in the years that followed. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla paid homage to the martyrs and freedom fighters of the Hyderabad Liberation struggle, saying their courage and sacrifices would continue to inspire generations.
Radhakrishnan on Thursday said the integration achieved through Operation Polo was a historic milestone, but stressed that lasting national unity could be achieved only when every citizen enjoyed equal rights, opportunities and dignity.