Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has promised to construct a building in the name of Mahatma Basaveshwara in Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 5 crores.
Speaking at Mahatma Basaveshwara's 882nd jayanthi (birthday) celebrations at Ravindra Bharathi on Tuesday, KCR also announced that a statue of the Mahatma would also be installed in the city, and that Basaveshwara Jayanthi would be officially celebrated in Telangana henceforth.
The Chief Minister said that Mahatma Basveshwara's life served as an inspiration for the Kakatiya kings and their dynasty, and his social reforms improved the lives of the poor and weaker sections of the society.
He assured that the state government would give prominence to the Balija and Lingayat communities in the state. He also promised to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the inclusion of the Lingayats into the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali, ministers Nayani Narasimha Reddy and T Harish Rao, and other leaders also addressed the function. (INN)