The controversy over renaming of Telugu Lalitha Kala Thoranam open air auditorium after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi has at last subsided with the state government issuing fresh orders restoring the word Telugu in its name.
According to the latest orders, the auditorium is now called “Rajiv Telugu Lalitha Kala Thoranam,” instead of just “Rajiv Lalitha Kala Thoranam.” So, the Rosaiah government has displayed its loyalty to the Congress high command by retaining Rajiv’s name, while restoring the word Telugu.
There was a serious criticism against the government for changing the name of the auditorium after Rajiv Gandhi. It was in fact an unwarranted decision as there was no demand whatsoever from the Congress ranks.
The auditorium was the brainchild of former chief minister N T Rama Rao, who got it constructed in a record time of 90 days at the time of International Film Festival of India (IIFI) in 1985. The TDP government never changed the name after NTR, as he was fond of naming everything after Telugu. But now, Rosaiah preferred to change it after Rajiv Gandhi only to please Sonia Gandhi so that he can retain his chief minister’s post!
