VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday hoisted the National Flag and received the Guard of Honour from the state police at the camp office here on the occasion of the Andhra Pradesh Formation Day celebrations.
The Chief Minister along with his Cabinet colleagues and legislator paid floral tributes to freedom fighter Potti Sriramulu, who sacrificed his life demanding a separate state for Telugu-speaking people.
Speaking to media persons, endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas Rao observed former chief minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy honoured Potti Sriramulu renaming Nellore district after him and now late YSR’s son and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has honoured Potti Sriramulu by restoring the AP Formation Day on November 1, which was cancelled during the earlier Telugu Desam government.
He deplored former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for forgetting the sacrifice made by Potti Sriramulu and for playing enacting dramas in the name of Navanirmaman Deekshas which were rejected by the public.
During the padayatra of Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said people from the Arya Vysya community asked him to restore the AP formation day and the Chief Minister has fulfilled his promise after coming into power.
Several programmes were held across the state to mark the AP Formation Day.
In Prakasam district, the police led by Superintendent of Police Malika Garg paid tributes to Potti Sriramulu. He said that Andhra Pradesh was formed on a linguistic basis as a symbol of the self-respect of the Telugu people and the services rendered by Potti Sriramulu and his sacrifice for the formation of the state should not be forgotten.
The SP remembered that Sriramulu, who wanted a separate state for all the Telugu-speaking people, went on a hunger strike for 58 days. She said that it was only after the death of Sriramulu that the Central Government recognised the need for the creation of linguistic states and formed Andhra state on October 1, 1953, with Kurnool as its capital. Later on, Andhra Pradesh was formed on November 1, 1956, with Hyderabad as its capital, following the first reorganization of states.
In East and West Godavari districts, several organisations paid rich tributes to Potti Sriramulu and by unfurling the state flag. East Godavari district collector Ch. Harikiran said the government aimed at informing the future generations about the sacrifices of Potti Sriramulu for getting a state for the Telugu-speaking people.
