Why did KCR choose Abids for national anthem rendition?

HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who took part in the mass recital of the National Anthem here on Tuesday, chose the Nehru Circle in Abids for his public appearance.

The mass-rendition of the national anthem was organised as part of the Telangana Government's fortnight-long Swatantra Bharatha Vajrotsavalu. However, KCR's choice of venue instantly became a curious topic for discussion within the political circles. Even before it sparked a round of wild kite-flying, a tweet from a supposed TRS sympathiser spilled the beans.

Nayini Anurag Reddy, tweeting from his Twitter handle @NAR_Handle, claimed that it was KCR's way of paying tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru and restoring his dignity at a time when some leaders were diluting the prominence of the first Prime Minister.

"While few act ignorant & insecure towards our first Prime Minister 'Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru', Here comes CM #KCR garu paying solid & grand tribute", his tweet read.

Anurag Reddy's tweet assumed instance significance in the wake of an alleged misinformation campaign that is rearing its head every now and then to paint Jawaharlal Nehru and his image in poor light. The current NDA dispensation at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is accused of fuelling this campaign.

KCR, in a recent no-holds-barred attack, chided the Modi government for profusely promoting saffron idealogues like Veer Savarkar even at the expense of Mahatma Gandhi, which captured the nation's attention.

The Congress party too has been crying foul of this 'mischief' claiming that the systematic attack against Nehru is part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to ensure that the iconic leader was eventually faded out of history books.

Against this backdrop, the KCR move choosing the Nehru Circle or Nehru Marg on Tuesday is being seen as a slap in the face for the Nehru detractors. More importantly, it's a plan to beat the Modi-led BJP in its own game. By announcing the Swatantra Bharatha Vajrotsavalu, KCR took the fizz out of Modi's Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, at least in Telangana.

The Centre, which put up the national flags for discounted sale after its 'har ghar Thiranga' call, had nowhere to hide when KCR distributed the Tricolour free of cost to one crore families in Telangana. All these were seen as counter-tactics to pre-empt the Modi government from running away with all the political mileage. The optics in front of an imposing statue of Jawaharlal Nehru in Abids on Tuesday is just another.