Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti government was installed in the country’s new 29th state, Telangana, with party supreme, 60-year old Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao being sworn in as Chief Minister on Monday.
Celebrations erupted in the state to mark the historic event that came after a long-drawn-out process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
K Chandersheker Rao pays a flower tribute at Telangana martyrs memorial before taking oath as the first Chief Minister of new state Telangana in Hyderabad (Photo: PTI)
Eleven others, including Rao’s son K T Rama Rao and nephew T Harish Rao, were also sworn in as Cabinet Ministers by Governor E S L Narasimhan who administered them oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan.
Nine other Cabinet Ministers are Mohammed Mahmood Ali, T Rajaiah, Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Eatela Rajender, Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, T Padma Rao, P Mahender Reddy, Jogu Ramanna and G Jagadish Reddy.
There was no woman representation in the Cabinet, which is expected to be expanded towards the end of this month, TRS sources said.
The swearing-in ceremony was not without controversies, as Chief Minister-designate of successor State of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu skipped it, in what is seen as first signs of discord between the two “regional satraps”.
Sources said Telugu Desam Party President was peeved that there was neither a personal invitation nor a telephone call; it was said to be a routine invitation from the administration.
It is no secret that there is no love lost between Rao and Naidu, who fought a fierce electoral battle marked by personal attacks.
Naidu, who was swept to power in the successor State of Andhra Pradesh, is slated to be sworn in as Chief Minister on June eight at a ceremony to be held between Vijayawada and Guntur.
Earlier today, President’s Rule was revoked in Telangana but it would continue to be in force in the residuary Andhra Pradesh till Naidu takes over as Chief Minister.
Narasimhan was sworn-in as the Governor of Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta administered the oath to Narasimhan, who will be the common Governor of Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh.
KCR was presented a guard of honour by the police at a glittering ceremonial parade.
KCR hoisted the national flag and inspected the ceremonial parade to celebrate the Telangana formation day.
Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, Director General of Police Anurag Sharma, newly sworn-in ministers of Telangana government and people from various parts of the new state attended the function at the Parade Grounds in Secunderabad.
Vowing to make Telangana a model state in all respects, KCR said welfare and development would be the two driving forces of his government.
The Telangana government would maintain cordial relationship not only with the Centre but also neighbouring states, Chandrasekhar Rao said.
Rooting out “political corruption” would also be top on his agenda to ensure transparent governance, he said.
“People of Telangana are looking forward for a progressive and development-oriented state. We will work in that direction and ensure a transparent administration. We will make Telangana a model state in the country in all respects,” KCR promised, addressing a ceremonial parade.
A Telangana State Advisory Council would be constituted with editors and other eminent people from various sectors to guide the government, the Chief Minister announced.
“In line with the promises we made on the eve of the elections, welfare will be top on our agenda. In the next five years, the TRS government will spend Rs one lakh crore for the welfare on SCs, STs, Backward Classes and minorities. Of this, Rs 50,000 crore will be spent on SC welfare alone,” KCR announced.
“We will not leave scope for even a single rupee corruption in spending the welfare funds,” he promised.
KCR also assured farmers that the government would soon implement its promise of waiving off farm loans up to Rs one lakh each and make Telangana the “Seed Bowl of India”.
The government would also come out with a new industrial policy soon to attract investments into the new state and create jobs, he said.
Telangana came into existence as the 29th state of India, capping the decades-old struggle in the region for carving out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh.
President’s Rule imposed in united Andhra Pradesh was revoked partially to facilitate swearing in of a government in the newly-created Telangana headed by TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The Central rule would, however, continue in the residual Andhra Pradesh until TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu takes charge as Chief Minister, which is likely on June 8.
A notification was issued early today revoking President’s Rule in Telangana to facilitate Rao in taking charge as the first Chief Minister of the state, a Home Ministry official said.
Earlier, Narasimhan was sworn in as the first Governor of Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta administered the oath to Narasimhan, who will be the common Governor of Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh.
Hyderabad will be the joint capital of Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh.
The ruling TRS, other political parties and Telangana supporters have lined up a number of events in Hyderabad and elsewhere to celebrate the realisation of the decades-long dream.
TRS activists and supporters have already painted Hyderabad pink, the colour of TRS flag, by installing huge cut-outs, banners, festoons and balloons hailing their leader.
According to TRS sources, cultural programmes would be organised tonight and a dazzling display of fireworks would be held from mid-night at People’s Plaza and Tank Bund at the picturesque Hussain Sagar lake to celebrate the occasion.
The journey towards achieving the goal of separate Telangana has been momentous and there have been a number of milestones in the saga.
KCR started his career with the youth Congress party in Medak district, controlled by Sanjay Gandhi in the 1970s. He joined the TDP in 1983 and contested against A.Madan Mohan and lost that election.
KCR won four consecutive Assembly elections from Siddipet between 1985 and 1999. He also served as the deputy speaker of the Andhra Assembly.
TRS was part of the United Progressive Alliance coalition government, led by Congress. The party later withdrew from the coalition, saying that the Alliance was not taking forward its demand for a separate Telangana state.
In 2004, he fought the Lok Sabha polls and went on to become a Union Cabinet minister of Labour and Employment in the UPA-1 government at the Centre.
He resigned in 2006 over the Telangana issue. In 2009, he fought and won the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha by-election for the TRS. The party fought the general elections as part of the opposition coalition.
TRS secured majority in recent Legislative Assembly elections by winning 63 of the 119 seats in Telangana region.
