Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is scheduled to unveil a bronze statue of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at Wipro Circle in Gachibowli on Saturday, September 26, coinciding with the former Prime Minister’s birth anniversary.
The statue has been installed at the prominent junction in Hyderabad’s IT corridor. The Telangana government had earlier directed HMDA officials to expedite the statue and junction development works in the Cyberabad area.
Hyderabad In-charge Minister Ponnam Prabhakar inspected the arrangements for the unveiling ceremony on Friday and reviewed preparations with officials.
Recalling Manmohan Singh’s public career, Ponnam said the statue was intended not merely as a memorial but as a reminder to future generations of the former Prime Minister’s contribution to nation-building, economic policy and public service.
Ponnam recalls 1991 economic reforms
Ponnam described Manmohan Singh as an internationally respected economist whose tenure as Finance Minister in 1991 was associated with major economic reforms that reshaped India’s economic policy.
He also recalled Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, highlighting legislation and programmes introduced during the UPA years, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Right to Information Act and Right to Education Act.
The minister said these measures expanded employment support, transparency and educational rights across the country.
Ponnam also recalled his own tenure as a Member of Parliament during Manmohan Singh’s premiership, saying he had an opportunity to work under his leadership and seek Central assistance for development initiatives in the Karimnagar parliamentary constituency.
Telangana statehood role recalled
The minister also highlighted the former Prime Minister’s role during the process that culminated in the creation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014.
Ponnam said the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh played an important role in the developments beginning with the Centre’s announcement in December 2009 to initiate the process for Telangana statehood and culminating in Parliament passing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
The Telangana government has highlighted the role of the then UPA government and Manmohan Singh in the state formation process.
The unveiling at Wipro Circle is part of the state government’s recent programme of installing statues and memorials of prominent national and social figures in Hyderabad. In August, Revanth Reddy unveiled statues of Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule at Necklace Road and Sardar Sarvai Papanna Goud at Tank Bund.
