Hyderabad: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday hoisted the National Flag at the Parade Grounds in Secunderabad during the Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations organised by the union government.
Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Secunderabad MP G. Kishan Reddy, Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, BJP Telangana president N. Ramchander Rao, and several party MPs and MLAs attended the programme.
The Defence Minister also reviewed a parade presented by Central paramilitary forces. Later, he unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Cantonment Park near Jubilee Bus Station.
Hyderabad Liberation Day marks end of Nizam rule
Singh recalled that Hyderabad did not gain freedom immediately after India’s Independence on August 15, 1947. Instead, the princely state remained under Nizam’s rule for 13 months. The region was integrated into the Indian Union on September 17, 1948, following Operation Polo, he noted.
In March last year, the Central government formally declared September 17 as Hyderabad Liberation Day to mark the merger. This year’s event at Parade Grounds became the fourth consecutive celebration organised by the Centre in Secunderabad.
