Cong should organise PV Narasimha Rao's centenary at national,

The Congress should first apologise and hold the event at national and international levels if the party is sincere in its respect towards the former Prime Minister, he said in a statement. "..it was an act of belittling him (Narasimha Rao) by organising celebrations confining him to Telangana.

The grandson of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and BJP spokesperson N V Subhash on Thursday took exception to the Congress organising the birth centenary celebrations of the late leader allegedly confining him to Telangana. The Congress should first apologise and hold the event at national and international levels if the party is sincere in its respect towards the former Prime Minister, he said in a statement.

"..it was an act of belittling him (Narasimha Rao) by organising celebrations confining him to Telangana. He was Prime Minister for the whole country not for Telangana alone," Subhash said in a statement.

"It is on the specific instructions from the Gandhi family that the TPCC is organising (the celebrations) in Telangana," he claimed. This shows that Congress party wanted only this family to be in the limelight, he alleged.

The whole nation was aware as to how the mortal remains of Narasimha Rao were sent to Hyderabad without the body being kept at the Congress office in Delhi, he said. It was a ploy of Congress leaders to organise the centenary celebrations in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao paying rich tributes to Narasimha Rao, he alleged.

"If the Congress leaders have a real intention to respect PV, they should first tender apology and organise the birth anniversary celebrations at the national and international level," Subhash said. The Congress was organising the birth centenary celebrations to gain popularity over the BJP, he claimed, adding that none of the family members would attend the event.

The Congress in Telangana had recently announced plans to launch the centenary celebrations of Narasimha Rao on July 24. The TRS government has already said it would organise the former prime minister's centenary celebrations throughout the year.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has also made a strong pitch for conferring the Bharat Ratna on the late leader..