<p>Hyderabad: Statues have taken centre stage in the political landscape of the Telugu states. </p><p>Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's unveiling of a 23-foot statue of TDP founder and former undivided Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/ntr">NT Rama Rao (NTR)</a> in Hyderabad's Ameerpet has ignited political passions across the state.</p><p>The Chief Minister's decision to personally unveil the statue, alongside Congress leaders including PCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud, has surprised many. NTR founded the TDP over 40 years ago on an explicitly anti-Congress platform. Telangana parties have long targeted the TDP, branding it as opposed to separate statehood and dismissing it as an "Andhra party."</p><p>Mahesh Kumar Goud recalled that the installation fulfilled a promise made during the Jubilee Hills by-poll campaign. "Unveiling the statue of NTR, who was affectionately called Anna (Brother), is a great memory that will remain etched in my mind for a lifetime. It is not merely a statue but an inspiration that rises above the realm of politics," said Revanth Reddy after the unveiling on Thursday.</p>.Jr NTR pays emotional tribute to grandfather NT Rama Rao on 103rd birth anniversary at NTR Ghat in Hyderabad.<p>Pushing back against criticism for honouring a Congress rival, the Chief Minister described NTR as a leader of whom the nation is proud, one who transcended caste, religion and region. He invoked NTR alongside Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Indira Gandhi, calling them three national gems whose contributions to the country deserved lasting remembrance. </p><p>"Babasaheb Ambedkar drafted the Indian Constitution and empowered the poor by granting them the right to vote. Indira Gandhi introduced land reforms, distributed land to the poor, and secured their rights. NTR was a leader defined by integrity, honesty, and an iron will," he said, adding "Indira Gandhi is a generation, and NTR an era."</p><p>The BJP, however, accused the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress </a>of invoking NTR's legacy purely for electoral gain. "In Jubilee Hills, Congress said Congress is Muslim and Muslim is Congress, to court Muslim votes. Now, ahead of the GHMC elections and to woo Andhra voters, Congress has started speaking about NTR. Congress has no moral right to speak about NTR. </p>.Telangana CM Revanth Reddy writes to Maharashtra CM over Tummidihatti barrage.<p>NTR entered politics because Congress insulted Telugu pride. He was the first to speak of a Congress-mukt Bharat," said BJP state unit president N. Ramachander Rao.</p><p>Meanwhile, a group of Telangana youth wrote to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, urging him to install a statue of Telangana ideologue Prof Jayashankar in the new state capital, Amaravati. With GHMC elections around the corner, political parties across the spectrum are actively chalking out strategies to woo Andhra-origin voters settled in Hyderabad.</p>
<p>Hyderabad: Statues have taken centre stage in the political landscape of the Telugu states. </p><p>Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's unveiling of a 23-foot statue of TDP founder and former undivided Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/ntr">NT Rama Rao (NTR)</a> in Hyderabad's Ameerpet has ignited political passions across the state.</p><p>The Chief Minister's decision to personally unveil the statue, alongside Congress leaders including PCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud, has surprised many. NTR founded the TDP over 40 years ago on an explicitly anti-Congress platform. Telangana parties have long targeted the TDP, branding it as opposed to separate statehood and dismissing it as an "Andhra party."</p><p>Mahesh Kumar Goud recalled that the installation fulfilled a promise made during the Jubilee Hills by-poll campaign. "Unveiling the statue of NTR, who was affectionately called Anna (Brother), is a great memory that will remain etched in my mind for a lifetime. It is not merely a statue but an inspiration that rises above the realm of politics," said Revanth Reddy after the unveiling on Thursday.</p>.Jr NTR pays emotional tribute to grandfather NT Rama Rao on 103rd birth anniversary at NTR Ghat in Hyderabad.<p>Pushing back against criticism for honouring a Congress rival, the Chief Minister described NTR as a leader of whom the nation is proud, one who transcended caste, religion and region. He invoked NTR alongside Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Indira Gandhi, calling them three national gems whose contributions to the country deserved lasting remembrance. </p><p>"Babasaheb Ambedkar drafted the Indian Constitution and empowered the poor by granting them the right to vote. Indira Gandhi introduced land reforms, distributed land to the poor, and secured their rights. NTR was a leader defined by integrity, honesty, and an iron will," he said, adding "Indira Gandhi is a generation, and NTR an era."</p><p>The BJP, however, accused the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress </a>of invoking NTR's legacy purely for electoral gain. "In Jubilee Hills, Congress said Congress is Muslim and Muslim is Congress, to court Muslim votes. Now, ahead of the GHMC elections and to woo Andhra voters, Congress has started speaking about NTR. Congress has no moral right to speak about NTR. </p>.Telangana CM Revanth Reddy writes to Maharashtra CM over Tummidihatti barrage.<p>NTR entered politics because Congress insulted Telugu pride. He was the first to speak of a Congress-mukt Bharat," said BJP state unit president N. Ramachander Rao.</p><p>Meanwhile, a group of Telangana youth wrote to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, urging him to install a statue of Telangana ideologue Prof Jayashankar in the new state capital, Amaravati. With GHMC elections around the corner, political parties across the spectrum are actively chalking out strategies to woo Andhra-origin voters settled in Hyderabad.</p>