VIJAYWADA: After facing pressure from various quarters and an uproar, especially on social media, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday ordered his officials to revoke a GO issued by the education department re-naming the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Prathibha awards after the late Chief Minister and Mr Reddy’s father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.
Later in the evening, the government issued an order restoring the name of the former President to the awards.
The move to re-name awards given to meritorious school children had drawn flak from various quarters. The erstwhile Chandrababu Naidu government in 2017 that had named the Prathibha awards after Abdul Kalam.
While a GO renaming the awards was issued on Monday night, it is learnt that the Chief Minister was miffed with officials on Tuesday issuing it without his clearance. He ordered them to withdraw the GO.
Earlier, Mr Naidu said on Twitter: “Dr Kalam has accomplished much for the nation with his inspiring life. @ysjagan’s govt changing “APJ Abdul Kalam Pratibha Puraskar” to “YSR Vidya Puraskar” is a shocking method of self-aggrandisement at the cost of disrespecting a much venerated man (sic).”
BJP leader Lanka Dinakar said the change of the award name showed the “utm-ost arrogance” in the decisions of the AP government which had disrespected a great scientist and former President.
