The 86th birth anniversary of Telangana Congress veteran G Venkataswamy is being celebrated as the state function on October 5. On the day chief minister K Chadrasekhar Rao will unveil the statue of Venkataswamy, popular as Kaka, on Tank Bund at 11.30 am. In the program, union labor minister Bandaru Dattatreya wil release Kaka’s aubobiography ” Mera Safar”. Invitations are being sent by the government of Telangana. What is interesting is the program is being organized as state program which precludes the need to invite Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to birth anniversary. The function will be presided over by deputy chief minister and dalit leader Kadiyam Srihari.

Venkataswamy’s sons Vivek, a former MP, and Vinod, a former minister, of Congress party, along with K Kesavarao, now TRS secretary general, switched over to TRS on June 2, 2013, protesting Congress delay in according statehood to Telangana. Once Congress decided to place the T-bill in the parliament, they met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and announced their return on April 1, 2014. It isn’t known exactly what their political agenda in pushing the celebration of birth anniversary of Kaka, into the fold of Telangana state government. On the invitation letter published by the Telangana government, no name of any Congress leader is printed. Even the name of opposition leader, another Congress veteran K Jana Reddy’s, is conspicuous by its absence. Vinod and Vivek are mentioned as guests of honor. Is there anything more in TRS government owning up Kaka than what meets the eye? Are Vivek and Vinod, slowly getting sucked into KCR magic?