A day after Congress government unveiled a new Telangana Thalli statue and BRS leader KT Rama Rao unveiled the older version of the statue, BRS MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla performed Palaabhishekam and Panchamrutam Abhishekam rituals at the Telangana Talli statue at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday. The act symbolised her opposition to the Congress government’s decision to replace the iconic statue with a newly designed representation of Telangana Talli.
Speaking at the event, Kavitha criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, alleging that the new statue was unveiled without public consultation or transparency. "Unfortunately, the idol that he (Revanth Reddy) has unveiled has not been discussed with anybody. In fact, it was kept a secret until it was unleashed. Why so much fear? If it was a, you know, emotive issue for 4 crore people, he could have unveiled it. He could have openly discussed it with everybody. He did not. He just put it," she said
She also alleged that CM Revanth Reddy opposed the formation of Telangana. She said, "I am only saying that it is a fear that Revanth Reddy has because he has always opposed the formation of Telangana, his name is not there in history. Now he's trying to somehow make a comeback into the history of Telangana which is not going to happen."
CM Defends New Telangana Talli Statue
Earlier, CM Revanth Reddy defended the government’s decision to redesign and replace the statue. He emphasised that the new statue reflects the cultural ethos and motherhood of Telangana. Addressing the Assembly, Reddy stated that the new design was finalized after consulting Telangana movement leaders, poets, and artists.
"The image represents the state's culture and traditions. It is incorrect to assume that the idea of Telangana Talli belongs to one party or family," he said, taking a veiled dig at the previous BRS regime. He also announced that December 9 would be celebrated annually as the day of Telangana Talli’s inception.