Hyderabad, Jun 23 (IANS): Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday said Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, should be conferred on former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.
Stating that Narasimha Rao changed the country's destiny for better and deserves the award, he said the state cabinet and state legislature will pass a resolution in this regard.
The Chief Minister said he would personally meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and request him to confer the Bharat Ratna on PV, as the late Prime Minister was popularly called.
Chairing a meeting where he reviewed the arrangements for PV's birth centenary celebrations, he announced that Rs 10 crore will be sanctioned for the celebrations.
KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said that to remember the greatest services rendered by PV as a multi-faced personality in several fields, the state government decided to organise year-long celebrations.
He announced that on June 28, the birth anniversary of PV, the main programme would be organised at PV Gnana Bhoomi in Hyderabad. Around the same time celebrations will be held at 50 locations worldwide.
KCR said a PV memorial should be built like a memorial developed for former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram. A team under the leadership of MP Dr Keshav Rao will visit Rameswaram and make suggestion to the government on PV memorial.
He also directed the officials to install five bronze statues of PV at Hyderabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Vangara and at the Telangana Bhavan in Delhi.
A portrait of PV will be kept in the Telangana Assembly. The state government will request the Centre to keep a portrait of PV in the Parliament.
"PV rendered his services as freedom fighter, political leader, journalist, an expert in several languages (polyglot) and writer. Bring out a special souvenir on par with the international standards to mirror PV's contribution in a wide range of fields," KCR told officials.
He also asked the centenary celebrations committee headed by Keshav Rao to invite President Ram Nath Kovind and Modi to the centenary celebrations.
He said since PV had a special relationship with former President Pranab Mukherjee and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he asked the committee to prepare a special programme in which they both would participate.