Congress Wants Hitec City Named After Rajiv Gandhi

Telangana Congress senior leader V Hanumantha Rao urged Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to rename Madhapur's Hitec City after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday, Rao said that he had addressed a letter in this regard to the CM.

"The State government is doing a great job honouring eminent personalities by naming various institutions after them. It should now recognise the services of Rajiv Gandhi towards this nation. He increased funding for science, and information technology and associated industries, and reduced import quotas, and taxes and tariffs on technology-based industries, especially computers, airlines, defence and telecommunications. He also announced a national policy on education to modernise and expand higher education programs across India. His efforts led to the creation of MTNL, and his public call offices, better known as PCOs, helped develop the telephone network in rural areas. To honour these efforts, Hitec City should be rechristened after him," he said.

It was taking a cue from Gandhi's efforts that united Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had implemented his information technology policy in the State which led to the setting up several IT companies in the State, he said. This wouldn't have been possible without Gandhi's preliminary initiatives and vision, he averred.