Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, has strongly opposed the Telangana government’s decision to rename the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University after Suravaram Pratap Reddy.
Sanjay claimed that this move would be an insult to Potti Sriramulu, a revered freedom fighter and Gandhian who sacrificed his life for the formation of Andhra State.
Sanjay expressed his respect for Suravaram Pratap Reddy’s contributions to the Telugu language but emphasized that removing Potti Sriramulu’s name from the university would be inappropriate.
He made these remarks after paying tribute to Potti Sreeramulu’s statue on his birth anniversary in Karimnagar.
The minister questioned the government’s courage, asking if they would also consider removing the names of other prominent figures like NT Rama Rao, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, and Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy from public places.
Sanjay’s comments came after he received a memorandum from the Arya Vysya Association, urging him to intervene in the matter.
Potti Sreeramulu is celebrated as an “Amarajeevi” (immortal being) in Andhra Pradesh for his 56-day hunger strike that ultimately led to his death in pursuit of a separate Andhra state.
Despite being from the Andhra region, his contributions as a freedom fighter are recognized across the Telugu-speaking areas.
The proposal to rename the university was initiated by the Telangana government following a request from CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao, who recalled a past promise made by former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to consider the renaming.
The move is also linked to the expiration of a clause in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, which had designated Hyderabad as the common capital for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for ten years.
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