Hyderabad: The debate on the state division Bill veered into different territory on Monday, with an attack on the rule of the erstwhile rulers, the Nizams. Majlis floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi wondered at one stage if the Nizam was responsible for the bifurcation of the state!
Also read: Don't scratch old wounds: Owaisi
What started as a casual reference by Telugu Desam member P. Keshav to the armed struggle against oppressive rule of feudal lords during the Nizam’s regime, took an extreme turn with legislative affairs minister S. Sailajanath and Congress whip D. Srinivas portraying the Nizam as anti-national and saying that people who praised his rule were traitors!
While the Majlis floor leader appealed to all parties not to rake up old wounds, Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu declared that the development of the city witnessed during his nine-year tenure had not been witnessed in the 400 years of Nizam’s rule.
The TRS both hailed the Nizam’s rule and at the same time claimed to have drawn inspiration from the Telangana armed struggle against the Nizam.
TRS floor leader E. Rajender praised the Nizams who developed the region, though the masses were oppressed. He said he was not justifying the Nizam’s oppression but highlighting his humanitarianism, which the Andhra leaders were lacking.
