BJP, TRS triggered 'Liberation Vs Merger' debate to hide failures: Uttam

HYDERABAD: Congress MP & former MP Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, has accused the BJP, TRS, and MIM of fabricating historical events in order to derive political mileage from the 1948 union of the erstwhile Hyderabad State with the Indian Union.

Speaking on Saturday at Huzurnagar's 75th Hyderabad Merger Day celebration, he claimed that the Congress party was the driving force behind the revolt against Nizam's rule and the fight against Razakar atrocities. "Several Congress officials, communists, and members of all communities gave their lives in sacrifice for Hyderabad's liberation and its incorporation into the Indian Union. BJP, TRS, and MIM are currently distorting history for purely political reasons. They are presenting a fictionalised version of history to call Hyderabad's merger with Indian Union as 'liberation'.

The Congress MP said that the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his deputy Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel conducted 'Operation Polo' when the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan refused to merge Hyderabad State with the Indian Union. Several Congress leaders including PV Narasimha Rao, who later became the Prime Minister of India and Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, who became the first elected Chief Minister of erstwhile Hyderabad State, fought against Nizam's rule. He also reminded that Narasimha Rao, after he became Prime Minister in 1991, gave recognition to hundreds of freedom fighters at the national level for their role in the struggle in Hyderabad's freedom movement.

"Congress party has been continuously celebrating Hyderabad's merger with the Indian Union on every 17th of September since 1949. By calling the merger liberation, BJP is using distorted history to communalise the freedom movement. Similarly, TRS Govt is trying to draw attention by celebrating 'National Integration Day. They have nothing to do with the freedom movement or the freedom fighters. They are just trying to hide their failures by triggering a debate between 'merger/integration' and 'liberation'," he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned Union Minister Amit Shah for stating that some people were still afraid of 'Razakars'. "Is he (Amit Shah) trying to claim that Razakars still exist? He should elaborate who exactly is a 'Razakar'?" he asked while accusing the BJP leader of attempting to create a communal divide in the society by instilling fear of 'Razakars'.

"It was the then Congress government at the Centre which took appropriate steps to merge Hyderabad state in India. Both BJP and RS parties were not even born at the time of the above merger and it is strange that they are creating a hype about it," he said.