Telangana CM Revanth Reddy slammed PM Narendra Modi for ignoring the Medaram jatara- Asia’s largest tribal fair.
CM Revanth Reddy at Medaram jathara. (X)
Apparently, to counter the BJP’s move to increase its presence in Telangana in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday, 24 February, raised the issue of discrimination of the south by the BJP which is seen as essentially a party of the north.
In an interaction with the media persons at Medaram in Mulugu district after offering prayers to the tribal deities Sammakka and Saralamma, the chief minister said that the discrimination was very glaring in the step-motherly treatment shown to the state by not recognising Asia’s largest tribal fair as a national festival which is also known as Kumbh Mela of the South.
He slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allocating ₹100 crore for Kumbh Mela and ignoring the Medaram fair, where the tribal deities attract devotees from all across the world, as an event of no consequence.
“The centre released ₹3 crore, a pittance, for a major event like this, which clearly indicates the kind of indifference the centre has for Telangana and south,” he said.
He said Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, who should have sought the national festival status for the Medaram fair, has not been getting around to that demand.
“Kishan Reddy had been saying that according national festival status was not possible,” he said and demanded that Kishan Reddy withdraw his statement.
On Thursday, 22 February, after offering prayers at the Medaram fair, the Union minister referred to the demand for “Medaram jathara” to be recognised as a national festival and said there is no such system anywhere in the country.
The Telangana chief minister wondered whether Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have the heart to visit Medaram.
“We are here to pay obeisance to the deities. Why don’t both of you come and see for yourselves the kind of multitudes that are thronging the temple here? They are a sea of humanity, about one and a half crore devotees and yet the fair does not deserve the status of national festival,” he further asked.
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