Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy laid the foundation stone for a statue of ‘Telangana Thalli’ (mother) in the state secretariat complex here on Wednesday.

The ‘Telangana Thalli‘ statue would be inaugurated on December 9 this year, he said. December 9 is the date when the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had announced initiation of the process of Telangana state’s formation in 2009 and it is also the birthday of Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who realized the decades-old demand of Telangana statehood, he added.

“So, December 9 is like a festival for Telangana people.” The inauguration of the statue would be a grand event with the participation of thousands of people.

In a veiled attack on the previous BRS regime, the CM said those who were in power for 10 years claimed to have built many important buildings or structures but neglected the ‘Telangana Thalli’.

The previous rulers behaved in such a way that they are more important than ‘Telangana Thalli’ and that they symbolize the state itself, he said.

Taking on the previous BRS government, he said though it had spent about Rs 22.50 lakh crores in the last 10 years, steps were not taken to install the ‘Telangana Thalli’ statue which would have cost just about Rs one crore.

Noting that ‘Telangana Thalli’ statue should reflect pride and stand as a source of inspiration, the CM said the responsibility of designing the statue has been entrusted to the principal of a state-run fine arts college.