Hyderabad, Aug 6 (IANS) Rich tributes were paid to Telangana ideologue K. Jayashankar on his birth anniversary on Wednesday.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, state ministers and leaders of Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recalled the key role played by the former vice-chancellor of Kakatiya University in the Telangana movement.

Public representatives and officials offered tributes to the late leader at various programmes held across the state.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that the entire Telangana society will remember Jayashankar, who was fondly called ‘Sir ‘, for sacrificing his life to achieve the separate state of Telangana.

On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the father of Telangana, the Chief Minister remembered Jayashankar’s untiring struggle and service to fulfil the dreams of the Telangana people for a separate state.

Jayashankar never gave up the agenda of a self-ruling state and the future of Telangana, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said that the Telangana protagonist led his entire life with a focus and the goal of achieving Telangana by igniting the spirit of a separate state movement among crores of people.

The Chief Minister extolled Jayashankar for dedicating his entire life to the cause of Telangana and keeping the separate Telangana movement alive for six decades.

“Jayashankar sir was the only leader who used to explain with statistics and data how the Telangana region and people suffered in the united Andhra Pradesh,” the Chief Minister said.

He stated that the people’s government will pursue the fighting spirit of Jayshankar Sir and fulfil his aspirations.

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao paid tributes to Jayashankar. He said Jayashankar was the guiding star of the Telangana movement, who lived with the goal of achieving Telangana statehood and the movement as his very breath.

“Professor Jayashankar Sir, a great soul who dedicated his life to spreading the ideology of Telangana. As the charioteer of the second phase of the Telangana movement, he stood as a constant support to KCR Garu, fighting until his last breath to realise the aspiration of Telangana statehood,” Rama Rao posted on ‘X’.

“In today’s critical times, when the interests of the state are at stake, the need to pass on Professor Jayashankar Sir’s fighting spirit and principles to future generations to protect Telangana’s self-respect is greater than ever. We hope all Telangana activists will remain steadfastly committed to this cause,” he added.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, said Telangana ideologue Jayashankar had dedicated his entire life to Telangana. “A saga of sacrifice that tirelessly strived for Telangana until the very end. A beacon of consciousness who, with his unyielding passion, led the Telangana movement toward statehood,” the BJP leader posted on ‘X’.

Paying her tributes, Telangana Jagruthi president K. Kavitha said that highlighting the injustices and inequalities faced by Telangana, Professor Jayashankar Sir, a great intellectual, ignited the flame of awareness among the people of Telangana.

“There was no region he did not visit in his efforts to liberate Mother Telangana, who was held captive in the clutches of colonial rulers. He tirelessly yearned for Telangana, a treasure trove of all resources, to rise from a state of begging to a position of authority. In the second phase of the Telangana movement, his contributions as a guide to KCR Garu and a pathfinder for the entire Telangana will always be remembered,” she said.

–IANS

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