Hyderabad: The Congress has reiterated its demand to include a chapter on the role played by interim party president Sonia Gandhi in the formation of Telangana state in school syllabus.
The party's national spokesperson Sarvan Dasoju raised the demand on the occasion of Sonia Gandhi's 74th birthday on Wednesday. He urged Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to include a lesson on the life of Sonia Gandhi and her contribution in making Telangana state a reality in school text books.
"You are very much aware that but for Sonia Gandhi ji, Telangana would never have been a reality. The least we could do is to represent her monumental contribution by including her life in our school education syllabus," the Congress leader told KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known.
The Congress leader said that as a mark of respect and gratitude, the Chief Minister should direct the authorities to insert a lesson on Sonia Gandhi's life in the school syllabus.
"Just as one can't deny the role of KCR Ji, nobody can deny the role of Sonia Gandhi in Telangana formation. While KCR's and various others' role in the state formation has been mentioned in school syllabus, why not mention Sonia Gandhi's role too," Dasoju asked.
He recalled that Sonia Gandhi as the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and President of Congress played a key role in according statehood to Telangana in 2014.
He also pointed out that KCR himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that there would have been no Telangana without Sonia Gandhi.
Dasoju rued that despite the great contribution and commitment shown by Sonia Gandhi, the TRS government has done nothing in return to at least honour her and as a mark of respect mention her role in the text books.
In 2015, the state government had included a chapter in social studies' text book for Class X, highlighting the role of KCR in the formation of Telangana state.
The 14-page chapter mentions the revival of the Telangana movement by KCR in 2001, his fast-unto-death in 2009 and the mass protests led by him for statehood.
The Congress leaders were upset over the non-inclusion of the role of Sonia Gandhi in the formation of the new state.
They had termed this as 'fascist tendency' and 'autocratic and dictatorial' attitude of KCR. They said the Telangana movement of over six decades was not confined to one individual and his party.
Senior party leader and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir recalled that KCR had stated in the legislative council that a separate Telangana state wouldn't have been possible without Sonia Gandhi and had assured the House that her contribution in the formation of Telangana will be included in school syllabus.
He said the Congress had been fighting for a separate state even before TRS was formed.
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