Hyderabad: Telangana Rakshana Sena chief Kalvakuntla Kavitha said her party would draw inspiration from the Telangana Armed Peasant Struggle. She said it would work to “oust anarchic forces” from power in the state.
Kavitha made the remarks after hoisting the national flag at the party office in Banjara Hills on Thursday. She participated in the programme to mark Telangana Merger Day. In her Telangana Merger Day speech, Kavitha said September 17 represented the sacrifices and fighting spirit of Telangana’s people.
She also accused the Congress and BJP of presenting different political narratives about the armed peasant struggle for their interests. According to Kavitha, the movement was fundamentally a people’s struggle against oppression by Jagirdars and Zamindars. Therefore, she rejected attempts to portray the movement primarily as a religious conflict.
Telangana Merger Day speech focuses on armed struggle
Kavitha also criticised Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy over his description of the struggle. In addition, she questioned the historical role that political parties claimed in the movement. The source material did not include responses from the Congress, BJP or Revanth Reddy to her remarks.
During her Telangana Merger Day speech, Kavitha recalled several intellectuals and writers associated with Telangana’s history. She cited Vattikota Alwar Swamy, Suravaram Pratap Reddy, Ravi Narayana Reddy, Kaloji and Dasarathi. She also referred to Shoebullah Khan and Makhdoom Mohiuddin. Kavitha said intellectuals and writers had helped build political consciousness among the people.
Furthermore, she recalled the roles of Doddi Komuraiah, Chakali Ailamma, Sheik Bandagi, Mallu Swarajyam and Arutla Kamaladevi. She said people belonging to different communities had participated in the struggle. Kavitha urged people to reject attempts by political parties to appropriate the history of Telangana’s armed peasant movement.