Hyderabad: The Joint Secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)-Telangana, Ravinuthula Shashidhar, strongly opposed the state government’s recent move to celebrate the birth anniversary of late revolutionary activist-poet Gummadi Vittal Rao, popularly known as Gaddar, along with allotting land for a statue in Tellapur.
Shashidhar, who is the convenor of an organisation called ‘Anti-Terrorism Front (ATF)’ on Wednesday, January 31, said that Gaddar, “renowned beyond his capacity as a singer, is a figure who has been associated with Maoist ideology—an ideology responsible for the deaths of numerous police personnel and innocent civilians, and fundamentally opposed to the principles of democracy.”
He further said that the “glorification of such an individual and his ideologies by an elected government not only undermines the democratic fabric of our nation but also serves to demoralize our armed forces who risk their lives to protect our country from internal and external threats.”
The VHP leader stated that these actions of the state government “signal a troubling endorsement of anti-democratic values and directly contravene the laws of the land which expressly ban Maoism and Naxalism due to their violent methods and objectives.”
He urged state Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to intervene and revoke the allotment of land for the statue of Gaddar, as well as to cease the official celebration of ‘Gaddar Jayanthi.’
“In light of these concerns, the ATF has also taken the step of writing to the Chief Justice of the High Court, urging the judiciary to examine this matter with the seriousness it deserves and to take appropriate action to rectify this undemocratic act perpetrated by the government,” the release further said.
The ATF convenor also sought the attention of the central government, “given that the celebration of figures associated with banned ideologies poses a significant challenge to national security and unity.”
Shashidhar had also opposed the previous BRS government’s move to accord state honours to Gaddar’s mortal remains for the same reason in August 2023.
