Neelam fete turns kids show

Ananatapur: The centenary celebrations of former president and first chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy turned out to be a children’s show on Monday.

The entry of people into the venue was restricted and students from Classes VI to IX from various private and government schools in and around Anantapur headquarters formed a majority of the participants.

Apart from the children, a few VIPs, MLAs and other elected representatives attended the function at Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy stadium at Anantapur. Though the district administration and celebration committee invited all sections of people, entry was confined to only students. 

Interestingly, students of Government Arts College, where the former president studied,  were also not allowed to participate in the programme. Students of Sri Krishnadevarya University, JNTU and other intermediate and degree college students had no chance of participating in the function.

There was tight security at the venue, possibly to prevent Samaikyandhra agitaters. Meanwhile, President Pranab Mukherjee applauded the services rendered by Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and described him as a role model in government and politics. He said that the late president set many records showed the way to value based politics by sacrificing key posts during his lifetime.

“It was during his tenure that a man was imprisoned for the first time for contempt of the House for raising slogans and throwing pamphlets from visitors’ gallery,” recalled Mukherjee.