Telugu Desam Party vows to fight for Narasimha Rao memorial in Delhi

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday said it would seek construction of a befitting memorial to former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in New Delhi.

"Rao is the pride of not only the Telugus, but of all Indians. He gave a new direction to the country by initiating economic reforms as the Prime Minister. It is sad that Congress has totally ignored him," TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu said at a press conference.

"But for the initiatives by Rao, the country would have been nowhere now, given the economic crisis it was facing in 1991," he said.

"He was a stalwart and a statesman. He initiated economic reforms and we pushed them forward. Even the subsequent United Front and NDA governments pursued the same reforms agenda," Chandrababu said.

Saying that there should be a memorial to the late PM in the national capital, Naidu said, "Except for Rao, there are memorials to all other former Prime Ministers in New Delhi. Why this discrimination? Is it because he is a Telugu who loyally served the country for decades?" he asked.

When he died in December 2004, Rao's body was not even allowed to be placed in the AICC headquarters, he said.

While ghats were built for all other former PMs, some of whom served no more than a few months in office, only Rao was left out despite having been the PM for five years, Chandrababu added.

"We will certainly fight for his memorial to be built in New Delhi when the next government takes over at the Centre. We will spare no effort in this regard," he asserted.