The 67th birth anniversary of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was celebrated with much fanfare and pomp across the state today.
The leaders of the TRS organised various functions, including a massive
state-wide tree plantation drive and several poojas across the temples of the twin cities, to mark the occasion.
Responding to the call of MP Joginapally Santosh Kumar to create a green Telangana, one crore saplings were planted across the state - TRS leaders, ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other district-level party workers participated in the Koti Vriksha Archana program, to mark the CM's birthday.
At the Pragathi Bhavan, the CM's son, IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao, and his family participated in the program. While the CM's daughter, MLC K Kavitha, planted saplings at her residence, Assembly Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy and Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy also planted saplings on the Assembly premises.
Ministers Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Indrakaran Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar and P Ajay Kumar, and MPs J Santosh Kumar and K Keshava Rao were among the other eminent politicians who took part in the re-greening drive.
(Organising plantation drives to mark the TRS supremo's birth anniversary seems to have become a sort of tradition within the party - last year too, minister KTR had called for a
state-wide afforestation program to celebrate the CM's 66th birthday.)
Further, as part of the celebrations, minister Srinivas Yadav presented a golden saree, weighing about 2.5 kgs, to the goddess at the Balkampet Yellamma Pochamma temple in Ameerpet. (While the CM's daughter, MLC Kavitha, was originally supposed to perform the ritual, conflicting engagements prevented her from doing so.) Several party bigwigs were also present for the ceremony.
Meanwhile, birthday wishes from many distinguished personalities of the country poured in for the CM - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ramnath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, DMK head M K Stalin, Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang, Assam CM Biplab Kumar Deb, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya all conveyed their greetings to KCR, and wished him a happy, healthy and long life.
"Greetings to Telangana CM KCR Garu on his birthday. Praying for his long and healthy life (sic)," tweeted PM Modi.
Union Ministers D V Sadananda Gowda and Arjun Munda, former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena Party chief and actor Pawan Kalyan and UK Deputy High Commissioner for Telangana and AP Dr Andrew Fleming were among the others who wished the CM on the occasion.
A constellation of film stars, including Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Srikanth, Anasuya Bhardwaj, Nitin, Vijay Devarakonda and Bobby, also extended their good wishes to KCR.
In response, an overwhelmed KCR thanked all his well-wishers and supporters for their good wishes, and expressed his hope that they would all continue to give him their "love and affection" in the years to come as well.