Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has reaffirmed his commitment to securing the Bharat Ratna for former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party founder, Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao (NTR). “The struggle will not stop until the Bharat Ratna is achieved. Whether it is today, tomorrow, or the day after, NTR will definitely be honored with the Bharat Ratna,” Naidu declared.
The Chief Minister, accompanied by former Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu and Tripura Governor N. Indrasena Reddy, participated in the launch of the book “Living History”, which documents the historic 1984 movement against NTR’s ousting from the Chief Ministership.
Highlighting NTR’s national influence, Naidu recalled that the anti-Congress movement he spearheaded through the creation of the National Front remains powerful even today, with the NDA continuing in office as a stable government. He also pointed out that in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections, the people endorsed the NDA with a 94 percent strike rate and 57 percent vote share.
Paying rich tributes, Naidu said NTR symbolized “Ram Rajya”, showing the country that welfare schemes for the common people were possible. Among NTR’s pioneering initiatives, he cited rice at two rupees per kilogram and electricity at fifty rupees per horsepower.
“NTR was the only political leader who declared that ‘Society is the temple, and the poor are the gods,’” Naidu noted, adding that if NTR’s legacy could be summed up in one phrase, it would be ‘Telugu Pride.’
NTRism is Humanism,” says TD Janardhan
TDP Political Secretary and Chairman of the NTR Literature Committee, T.D. Janardhan, emphasized that “NTRism is Humanism.” He recalled that NTR was the leader who laid a strong foundation for anti-Congress politics in the country, pointing to his role in the formation of the National Front.
Janardhan praised NTR as a great humanist who, four decades ago, introduced welfare schemes to ensure food security for the Telugu people, and as a remarkable reformer who granted equal property rights to women.
Comparing NTR’s legacy with glorious epochs of Telugu history, Janardhan said, “Just as the Satavahana and Kakatiya eras are remembered, future generations will remember the names of NTR and Chandrababu Naidu with the same reverence.”
