Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, urged people to participate in the Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations to be held by the Central government at the Parade Grounds in Secunderabad on September 17 in large numbers.

Speaking to reporters in Karimnagar on Tuesday evening, Mr. Sanjay alleged that the ruling Congress and the main opposition BRS are not officially celebrating Hyderabad Liberation Day out of the fear of the Majlis party. He accused the two parties of failing to acknowledge the sacrifices made during the Telangana Liberation Struggle.

“Once BJP comes to power in Telangana, we will organise Hyderabad Liberation Day as a State function across Telangana and include the history of the struggle in school textbooks,” Mr. Sanjay said.

He alleged that the Congress and the BRS were “two sides of the same coin” and accused them of wasting the time of the Legislative Assembly. He also alleged that the State government was selling government lands to meet its financial commitments and warned that “Telangana could face a situation similar to those in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.”

Mr. Sanjay said a month-long “Seva Sankalp Abhiyan” would begin on September 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday and his 25 years in public life. The programmes include blood donation camps and the ‘Ashirwada Deepam’ event on September 17, followed by elocution, drawing and other competitions during the month.