Leaders Participate In Bonalu Festivities

Scores of Telangana's leaders today rushed to the Lal Darwaza Simhavahini temple to participate in the Bonalu festivities being held at the famed Old City temple.

TPCC chief and MP A Revanth Reddy who was one among them conveyed his greetings to the people of the state on the occassion.

"Today I am extending special greetings to all the women who carry bonams to the deity. The Lal Darwaza Bonalu is a symbol of communal harmony. A Nizam ruler had presented a gold ring to the presiding Mahankali deity at the temple when a cholera pandemic had hit the princely state of Hyderabad during his rule. The ruler had also sought the blessings of the presiding deity when the state was hit by unprecedented floods about a century back. Keeping this wonderful tradition of communal harmony in mind, I would like to urge the Hindu and Muslim communities to celebrate Bonalu together. As we celebrate the festival in a separate state, we should also remember that this has become a reality due to the blessings of Congress president Sonia Gandhi," he said.

State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar also performed prayers at the temple today.

Speaking on the occasion, he conveyed his wishes to the public, and said that he had appealed to the deity to ensure that justice was done to the people of Telangana and to protect the state from Covid-19.

Kumar then added that he would perform prayers at the temple again after the victory of the BJP in the 2023 Assembly elections.

The leader, known for his explosive comments, claimed that Hyderabad did not belong to the "nawabs" but to the Hindu community instead, and stated, "Bonalu is meant to highlight the unity of the Hindus. All Hindus should fight for the protection of their religion."

Another BJP leader, former MP Vijayashanti, echoed similar sentiments and promised to present gold bonams to the presiding deity of the Lal Darwaza temple if her party came to power in the next Assembly elections. She said that she had present a similar offering to the deity after the formation of Telangana in 2014.

Talking about the current political scenario in the state in detail, she claimed, "Telangana will once again become a democratically-run state only when the BJP comes to power. Currently, our state is being crushed under the rule of a dictator, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. I have prayed to goddess Mahankali to free us all from his dictatorial clutches."

The former MP then added that she had prayed for the eradication of Covid-19 from the entire world.

Accompanying Vijayashanti was national BJP Vice-President D K Aruna who revealed that she had prayed for the protection of the people of the entire world from the pandemic.

Speaking to the media after performing prayers at the temple, Aruna said she had prayed the deity to bless Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his hard work as well.

She then voice her agreement with Vijayashanti's claims that the state was "suffering under the rule of a dictator", and added that she had also prayed for democracy in Telangana.