Notwithstanding the controversy over excluding some Telangana poets from the World Telugu Conference, the government is facing a peculiar problem of some invitees turning down the invitations questioning the authority and qualification of those signing the invitation letter.
A London-based Telangana activist Gampa Venugopal, who also runs a news magazine Telangana Pravasi promoting Telangana literature, has sent a letter to the organisers stating it was an insult to get the invitation signed by a coordinator, whom he alleged has no literary background nor the love for the language.
Mr. Venugopal referred to Mahesh Bigala, who is appointed the NRI coordinator for the World Telugu Conference.
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Mr. Venugopal has also withdrawn a special edition on the conference
“I expressed my dissatisfaction to Nandini Sidda Reddy, Chairman of the Telangana Sahitya Akademi, on how people with no connection to Telugu language and literature were made to invite literary figures abroad,” he said.
However, Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy refuted the charges saying the coordinators were appointed based on the interest expressed by them.
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“We want all those with love for Telugu to participate. Any personal issue should not hamper their participation.
“The Government is committed to honour every participant in the best possible way,” he said.