Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao praised MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi for seeking an additional public holiday for Sivaratri. However, the CM refused to entertain the plea.

Mr Owaisi had contended that an additional holiday should be declared for Sivaratri, as devotees stay awake all night long to mark the auspicious occasion and are then forced to turn up for work the next day. Mr Rao was pleased by Mr Owaisi’s proposal and said it is wonderful to see Muslims fight for their Hindu brothers. He called Telangana a “secular bouquet of different religions.”

Last year, Mr Owaisi had asked the government to give two days of holidays each for Id-ul-Fitr and Christmas, which the government accepted. However, the CM refused to accept his plea this time and said the matter will be discussed later.