This is the second year that Soundararajan is being denied the opportunity to unfurl the national flag in a full-scale celebration.
Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao and Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Rudyard Kipling famously said, “East is East and West is West, and neither the twain shall meet.”
On Republic Day this year, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan will unfurl the national flag at Raj Bhavan, while Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will salute the tricolour at Pragathi Bhavan.
The two separate events will eloquently capture how strained the relations are between the two dignitaries.
This is the second consecutive year that Soundararajan is being denied the opportunity to unfurl the national flag in a full-scale celebration and inspect a guard of honour.
Traditionally, the Republic Day celebrations were held at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad, where the Governor would unfurl the national flag and read a report of the state government. The celebrations were later shifted to Public Gardens in Nampally.
Last year, Covid-19 was given as the reason for limiting the Republic Day celebrations to Raj Bhavan, although it was as clear as daylight even then that the strained relations between the KCR and Soundararajan resulted in the two separate functions. The same has persisted this year as well.
According to sources, the state government sent a communication to Raj Bhavan stating that this year’s Republic Day function could be held there itself.
It is anybody’s guess whether KCR will attend the function at Raj Bhavan this year. He gave it a miss last year.
Predictions are that he might observe low-key Republic Day celebrations at Pragathi Bhavan, his official residence and the principal workplace of the chief minister.
The government is also likely to skip the customary Governor’s address at this year’s state Budget Session on 3 February.
This is on the grounds that the present budget session is a continuation of the previous session, as it was not prorogued.
Secretary to the state legislature, V Narasimha Charyulu, had recently announced that this would be the fourth meeting of the eighth session of the second Telangana Legislative Assembly.
If it were the ninth session beginning with the budget, the Governor would be required to address both houses.
However, BRS party sources say that since the eighth session was not prorogued, there would be no need for the Governor’s address.
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