Governor E S L Narasimhan kept his word by attending Republic Day celebrations of both the new states —Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 275 kilometres apart.
Narasimhan landed at Vijayawada overnight and addressed the parade at 7.40 am and then flew by a helicopter to Hyderabad to participate in the Republic Day celebrations at Parade Grounds here at 10 am.
The first ever Republic Day of residual Andhra Pradesh was held at Indira Gandhi municipal stadium where achievements of Chandrababu Naidu’s seven-month rule was depicted in bright colors on floats of agriculture, education, smart cities and the historic loan waiver (debt redemption) scheme.
However, the event lacked the grandeur of the Army Parade Ground of Secunderabad here.
Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao created a flutter when he left even before completion of the official programme. Governor E S L Narasimhan who came from Vijayawada completed his speech and was awarding appreciation trophies, when KCR left the venue.
What surprised everyone was that the chief minister left even before the national anthem was played to mark the conclusion of the function.
Narasimhan lauded the Andhra Pradesh government for fulfilling the promises made during the elections by citing pensions scheme, debt redemption for farmers and SHG groups, bottled free drinking water, abolition of belt shops and hike in retirement age to 60 from 58.
He also said that the new state capital will be world class. “We plan to complete the Polavaram project by June 2018 providing diversion of 70 TMC of Godavari water for betterment of fields and parched throats in Rayalaseema,” he said.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam float bagged the first prize in the 66th Republic day competition held at Vijayawada.The float comprised Saint Annamayya, golden gopuram of the temple.
The governor had a closed door meeting with the chief ministers after the “At Home” event at the Rajbhavan.
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