KCR praises Nizam, kicks off row

Hyderabad
Sept. 17: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, kicked off a controversy by praising the Nizam on the occasion of Hyderabad Liberation Day.
“If Sir Arthur Cotton is for you (people of coastal area), Nizam is for us,” he said.
The TRS chief’s comments have been controversial in the past but he remains unrelenting. Hyderabad Liberation Day is celebrated for merger of Hyderabad state with Union of India against the fascist Nizam rule and atrocities by Razakaars. Intellectuals have objected to the TRS chief praising Nizam in the past.
“When they can praise Sir Arthur Cotton for constructing a barrage across Godavari, why not Nizam for taking up Nizam Sagar which provides irrigation facilities for three lakh acres. When they can treat Cotton as a demi God why can’t we do so with the Nizam?” he asked.
“Why should some people continue to distort history? If they can praise a British born Cotton for his achievement, why not we do the same for Nizam? How long we should take diktats from others,” he said. The TRS chief said there was limit for everything and if some people still try to insult us, people of Telangana would not keep silent. The repercussions would be serious, he warned. The TRS chief said when he made a similar comment in the past it became a sacrilege.
“We are not backing Nizam on all accounts, but we certainly have to give credit to him if he deserves it in some cases. Whether the king is a Hindu or Muslim, if he had done something good for the people he should be given the credit,” he added. “Hyderabad Liberation day is not officially celebrated due to arrogance of present rulers,” he said.
Source::DC