Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has demanded that a memorial be built for former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in New Delhi.
BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao made the demand while speaking in the Telangana State Assembly during the special session to pay tributes to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who passed away last week.
While backing the demand for Bharat Ratna to Manmohan Singh, Rama Rao said that former Prime Minister and son of Telangana P. V. Narasimha Rao should also be given due respect and recognition
KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, stated that Narasimha Rao is the only Prime Minister who does not have the honour of a memorial in the national capital.
The BRS leader demanded that the state government come forward and move a resolution requesting the same in the State Assembly. He hoped that the Centre would accept the same.
BJP floor leader A. Maheshwar Reddy also spoke about the lack of a memorial for Narasimha Rao. He said though the Congress party was in power at the Centre for 10 years, it did not care to build a memorial for the son of Telangana, who was the only Telugu to hold the office of the Prime Minister.
He stated that it was Narasimha Rao who appointed Manmohan Singh as the finance minister.
The BJP leader said the Congress also did not confer Bharat Ratna on Narasimha Rao and it was the BJP government led by Narendra Modi who conferred the highest civilian honour on the late leader.
Maheshwar Reddy said the BJP-led government also ensured the state funeral of Manmohan Singh with due honour and respect for a former Prime Minister and also announced space for a memorial in the national capital.
He said the Congress not only denied Bharat Ratna to Narasimha Rao but its leader Sonia Gandhi and her family did not attend the ceremony where the highest honour was conferred on him posthumously by the Modi government. This shows the grudge they had against him, he remarked
The BJP leader also alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi insulted Manmohan Singh by tearing an ordinance which he had brought.
Maheshwar Reddy also claimed that while the BJP-led government announced mourning as a mark of respect for Manmohan Singh, he just now learnt that Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Vietnam to celebrate New Year.
His remarks evoked strong protest from the treasury benches. Minister for Legislative Affairs D. Sridhar Babu intervened to ask the BJP leader to confine himself to paying tributes to Manmohan Singh and not to bring politics. He requested Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar to delete the remarks of Maheshwar Reddy.
Later, BRS member and former minister Harish Rao also referred to an incident in which Rahul Gandhi tore apart the ordinance brought by the Manmohan Singh-led government.
(IANS)
