Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao skipped Republic Day celebrations organised by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan at Raj Bhavan. The CM defied the High Court orders which directed the state to hold a parade and said that the celebrations cannot be skipped by a state government.
On the occasion of 74th Republic Day, the Governor unfurled Tricolour at her official residence amid rift between the CM and the Governor of the state. She also shared pictures from the morning and wrote, “On the occasion of 74th #RepublicDay2023 hoisted our National Flag at Rajbhavan.”
Despite the orders of High Court to hold Republic Day celebrations at Parade Grounds and organise a parade, there was no announcement by the state government till this morning. The High Court had yesterdaydirected the state govt to follow central guidelines during celebrations. It had also directed the KCR government to make all the arrangements.
The parade was held at the Raj Bhavan and not at the Parade Grounds like it use to happen every year before Covid situation. Central government guidelines were not followed.
Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by advocate K Srinivas, a single judge bench of the high court headed by justice P Madhavi Devi found fault with the state government for citing Covid-19 protocol as the reason for not holding the celebrations for the Republic Day in a public place.
The High Court said that celebrating Republic Day in a befitting manner is the bounden duty of all constitutional authorities and it cannot be skipped by the state government.
Earlier, the state government has informed Raj Bhavan that it can hold the R-Day event independently, marking a break from tradition for the second year in a row. The state used to hold a combined official event at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad until two years back.
The standoff between chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has worsened over the past few months with Raj Bhavan sitting on at least eight legislative bills.
