Recalling the services of the party founder N T Rama Rao to the telugu people, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday demanded that the centre bestow the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, to the former chief minister for his contributions to the state, particularly the film industry.
The TDP president also called upon the party's rank and file to follow his footsteps to come up in life.
Talking to media persons at the NTR Ghat after paying rich floral tributes to the founder of the Telugu Desam party on the occasion of his 15th death anniversary, Naidu said that NTR had created a new wave in the politics of state with his commitment to work towards the upliftment of the backward and the poor.
Naidu arrived at the NTR Ghat with his wife Bhuvaneshwari Devi and son Lokesh Naidu.
Remembering his services to the film industry, Naidu said that “no one can forget his services to the telugu cinema industry, and his life history is an inspiration to the future generations.”
Naidu urged the state government to rename the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad as the NTR International Airport.
Earlier, the TDP president had flagged off the Amar Jyothi after paying floral tributes at the NTR statue at the Rasoolpura crossroads.
Speaking on the occasion, NTR's son Nandamuri Harikrishna called upon party workers to work towards fulfilling the late leader's dreams.
Harikrishna alleged that the suicides of farmers have increased during its stint in power.
Actors Kalyan Ram, Ramakrishna and Jayakrishna, and senior TDP leaders Devender Goud, Vijaya Rama Rao, T Srinivas Yadav and Nannapuneni Rajakumari were present.
Union minister of state for human resource development D Purandareswari, and her husband D Venkateswar Rao, paid tributes to NTR and recalled his services to the nation. She said that her father's ideals of discipline and commitment to work were followed by her and this helped her come up in life.
After paying rich floral tributes, NTR's widow Lakshmi Parvathi blamed TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu for his death.