New Delhi: Marking the 'Telangana Liberation Day,' Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday hoisted the national flag at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad and received the guard of honour on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion of 'Hyderabad Liberation Day', the day the princely state of Hyderabad merged with the Indian Union on September 17, 1948, Shah said that even after the formation of the state of Telangana, political parties were hesitating to celebrate the day to pursue vote-bank politics.
"I would like to tell them that people of the country would turn away from those who turn away from their country's history," he said.
Shah further stated that Telangana and the country can be taken forward only by respecting the nation’s history, the sacrifices of martyrs, and the country’s freedom struggle.
Recalling the atrocities committed by the 'razakars' (armed supporters of Nizam) during Nizam's rule, Shah said that if not for the country’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Telangana would not have gotten liberation so soon.
Shah said it was Patel who, following the principle of Nation First, planned the Hyderabad Police Action and forced the Nizam's razakar army to surrender without bloodshed. Shah said that Patel liberated this area by respecting the sentiments of the people.
“Sardar Patel had said that a slave Hyderabad is like a stomach cancer for India and there could be no other way out except an operation and that is why he worked to liberate Hyderabad through police action,” Shah said.
Shah hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for starting a new tradition by celebrating the day since last year and said that it is a tribute to the martyrs of the Hyderabad Liberation struggle.
Addresing the people of Telangana, Shah praised Sardar Patel, K M Munshi, and all those who worked towards the liberation of Hyderabad State.