Why Telangana will be abbreviated as 'TG' and not 'TS'

The Congress-led Telangana government has decided to change the state’s code from “TS” (Telangana State) to “TG” in a Cabinet meeting. The latest change will reflect on all vehicle registration plates in the state. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said the previous government chose “TS” as per its whim, and no other state in the country has “state” in its code. On Sunday, the decision was made to carry out a poll promise made by the CM during the campaign for the assembly election. Here’s why the decision has been taken. Changing the state code The then-ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) decided to use “TS” as the abbreviation for Telangana, which was created in 2014 by splitting from Andhra Pradesh. BRS was earlier known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which was changed to reflect their national aspirations. CM Reddy claimed that the party led by K Chandrasekhar chose the acronym “TS” to “match their party name.” IT Minister D Sridhar Babu briefed the media on the decisions made by the Cabinet, stating that the previous government chose to follow “TS” at its whim rather than adhering to any rules or regulations. Each Indian state has an abbreviation consisting of two letters, such as AP for Andhra Pradesh, BR for Bihar, and MH for Maharashtra. Vehicle registration numbers will now carry “TG” as a prefix as a result of this decision. Other key decisions announced During the four hours of the meeting at the Secretariat, a few additional key decisions were made. The poet Ande Sri’s “Jaya Jaya He Telangana,” which rose to fame during the Telangana movement, has been chosen as an official state song. The Telangana Cabinet on Sunday decided to conduct the budget session of Legislative Assembly from 8 February. The Cabinet also decided to alter the “Telangana Thalli” (Telangana mother) statue in order to better represent the goals of the populace. In different decisions representing the aspirations of the Telangana agitation, the Cabinet decided to change the state’s official symbol in a way that it “reflects the people without any trace of monarchy”, state Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said. The government also made the decision to conduct a caste census in the state, adhering to the Congress’s pledge to conduct one nationwide upon assuming power. Two further guarantees will be implemented during the Assembly session: the Rs 500 LPGs plan and the 200 units of free power. After engaging with all stakeholders, a new state emblem will be created. Notifying the Kodangal Area Development Authority, upgrading 65 government buildings to advanced technology centres, allocating 100 acres for the construction of a high court in Rajendranagar, and creating policies for convicts to be granted remission were among the other decisions made. A subcommittee was also instructed by the CM to present a report about the reopening of the Nizam Sugar Factory. In the state, opening the Nizam-era plant has been an often-mentioned poll promise. The Cabinet committee deliberated the outstanding debts and financial challenges encountered by the closed factories located in Bodhan and Mutyampet. The CM asked what the needs and issues of the sugarcane farmers were. He then requested that the subcommittee provide appropriate proposals and ideas to bring the factory back to life. A challenge to BRS Reddy also took a dig at the former regime over utilising Krishna River water. Telangana suffered more damage in utilising Krishna river water during the BRS regime than during undivided Andhra Pradesh as the previous government failed to safeguard the state’s interests, he said. Addressing a press conference, he said the BRS is trying to attack the Congress government by “covering up its own sins” on the issue of handing over projects on Krishna and Godavari rivers to Centre (river management boards). He countered the criticism of BRS leaders that handing over the projects to KRMB would hurt the state’s interests. This comes against the backdrop of Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh recently agreeing to hand over the management (regulation) of water release from the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects, from 15 outlets based on them and spillways of the two joint storage facilities for the two states, to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB). The KRMB was constituted by the Centre as per the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organisation Act, 2014 for the administration, regulation, maintenance and operation of such projects, as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time. Reddy has also challenged his predecessor K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), his son KT Rama Rao (KTR) and nephew Harish Rao for a debate on the floor of the assembly on irrigation projects. BRS has accepted the challenge. A verbal battle has broken out between the Congress and the BRS, with one party accusing the other of betraying the interests of the farmers and the state. With inputs from PTI