Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu this morning visited the popular Khairatabad Ganesh pandal and offered prayers.
Members of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Committee welcomed the Vice-President, and made arrangements for him to perform a special puja and other rituals.
Speaking on the occasion, the Vice-President said that he sought the blessings of Lord Ganesh for the people of the two Telugu-speaking states. Lord Ganesh was the remover of obstacles, and the god whose blessings needed to be taken to start any work, the Vice-President noted.
Deputy Chief Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali, senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya, members of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi and others were present.
Later, a stream of leaders from different walks of life called on the Vice-President at the Raj Bhavan. Among those who met him were Osmania University Vice-Chancellor S Ramachandram, who invited the Vice-President to the valedictory function of the varsity's centenary celebrations to be held in April next. The Vice-President accepted the invitation.
MRPS founder Manda Krishna Madiga and state BJP leader G Kishan Reddy also met the VP and sought his cooperation for the categorisation of SCs in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Vice-President pointed out that while he supported the demand for categorisation of SCs in principle, there was a need to build a consensus among all political parties to move forward on the issue.
Telangana TDP floor leader A Revanth Reddy and Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy also called on the Vice-President. Naidu advised the TDP floor leader to actively participate in Assembly debates and not resort to disrupting the House. The members must cooperate for the smooth functioning of the House, he said.
Well-known film director K Raghavendra Rao and TV5 Managing Director Bolineni Ravindra also met the Vice-President.