KTR pays tribute to Konda Lakshman Bapuji on his birth anniversary
Synopsis
BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao on 27 September 2026 honoured Konda Lakshman Bapuji — freedom fighter, Telangana movement stalwart, and early shelter provider to the TRS — on his birth anniversary, recalling his ministerial resignation and lasting institutional legacy in Telangana.
Key Takeaways
Konda Lakshman Bapuji resigned his ministerial post in undivided Andhra Pradesh to pursue the demand for a separate Telangana state.
He sheltered the newly formed Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) at his residence when K.
Chandrashekar Rao founded the party in April 2001 .
Telangana was constituted as a separate state on 2 June 2014 after a prolonged statehood movement.
The KCR government installed a statue of Bapuji at Tank Bund, Hyderabad to honour his contributions post-statehood.
The state's horticultural university was renamed Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University in his memory.
BRS working president KTR posted the tribute on 27 September 2026 as part of the party's ongoing effort to honour Telangana movement icons.
A freedom fighter who walked away from ministerial power to champion a stateless people's dream — BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao marked the birth anniversary of Konda Lakshman Bapuji on Sunday, 27 September 2026, saluting the veteran Telangana movement leader as a towering figure whose sacrifices paved the road to statehood.
The man who gave TRS a home
KTR's tribute, posted in Telugu, recalled that Bapuji surrendered a ministerial post in undivided Andhra Pradesh rather than compromise on the demand for a separate Telangana state — a sacrifice he called 'tṛṇaprāyaṁgā vadilukunnāḍu' ('given up as though it were a mere blade of grass'). More concretely, when K. Chandrashekar Rao founded the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in April 2001 as the political engine for statehood, it was Bapuji who opened the doors of his own home as the party's earliest shelter — a gesture that gave the fledgling movement a physical address at its most vulnerable moment.
From Tank Bund to a university bearing his name
When Telangana was finally carved out of Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2014, the KCR government moved to cement Bapuji's place in the state's official memory. A statue was installed in his honour at Tank Bund, Hyderabad's landmark promenade of movement icons. The state also renamed its horticultural university — now the Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University — after him, embedding his legacy directly into the state's institutional fabric.
BRS's pattern of honouring its founding generation
KTR's post is part of a broader political rhythm: BRS leaders consistently mark the birth and death anniversaries of Telangana movement figures to reinforce the party's historical claim as the primary vehicle that delivered statehood. In a state where the 2014 bifurcation remains a live identity marker, such tributes are not merely ceremonial — they are a reminder of which party stood in whose living room when the odds were longest.
Point of View
The post implicitly contrasts the 'original sacrifice' with what BRS frames as the current ruling establishment's weaker claim to movement heritage. Tributary politics of this kind serve a dual purpose in Telangana: they are genuinely felt acts of remembrance and simultaneously calibrated tools of regional identity consolidation.
NationPress
27 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Konda Lakshman Bapuji?
Konda Lakshman Bapuji was a freedom fighter and veteran Telangana statehood movement leader who resigned his ministerial post in undivided Andhra Pradesh to support the demand for a separate Telangana state. He also provided his residence as an early shelter to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi when KCR founded the party in 2001.
Why is Konda Lakshman Bapuji remembered in Telangana?
He is remembered for his decades-long commitment to Telangana statehood, including sacrificing a ministerial position and hosting the nascent TRS movement. After Telangana's formation in 2014, the state honoured him with a statue at Tank Bund and by naming its horticultural university after him.
What is Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University?
It is a state university in Telangana renamed in honour of Konda Lakshman Bapuji by the KCR government following the creation of the state in 2014, recognising his contributions to the Telangana movement.
Why did KTR post a tribute to Konda Lakshman Bapuji?
BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao posted the tribute on 27 September 2026 to mark Bapuji's birth anniversary, continuing BRS's tradition of honouring Telangana movement veterans on significant dates.
When was the Telangana Rashtra Samithi founded and by whom?
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was founded by K. Chandrashekar Rao in April 2001 as the primary political vehicle for the statehood demand. It later achieved that goal when Telangana became a separate state on 2 June 2014, and was subsequently renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
