The official birth anniversary celebration of B.R. Ambedkar here on Wednesday was notable for the failure of any of the political leaders to take the adjoining stage after garlanding his statue near the Tank Bund.
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, several of his Cabinet colleagues, Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders left the venue without addressing the gathering.
In fact, Mr. Rosaiah offered floral tributes to a portrait at the foot of the pedestal. There was some commotion when Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi turned up to garland the statue as supporters of separate Telangana raised slogans.
CPI (M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury found himself in an embarrassing situation while talking to the media. His comment that the Marxist party was committed to fulfilling the aspirations of Ambedkar invited questions from mediapersons why the party did not support separate Telangana when Ambedkar proposed smaller States.
CPI, CPI (M) leaders K. Narayana and B.V. Raghavulu, BJP State president G. Kishan Reddy, Lok Satta president Jayaprakash Narayan and several MPs and MLAs garlanded the statue.
