Hyderabad: A statue of former India Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was unveiled on Friday, March 21, at the International Stadium in Uppal named after him.
The statue was unveiled by Telangana industries and IT minister D Sridhar Babu in the presence of other Congress leaders. Following the inauguration, Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president Arishnapally Jaganmohan Rao said, “For the past few years we wanted to install a statue of Rajiv Gandhi at the stadium. Several discussions were held during the Annual General Meetings.”
He thanked Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for approving the construction of the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium back in 2009.
Speaking on the occasion, Sridhar Babu said, “The Telangana government is focusing on the development of sports in Telangana. A sports policy is being drafted and the Sports university will be set up in Hyderabad.”
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In 2024, Telangana Congress leader V Hanumanta Rao announced that the Rajiv Gandhi statue would be installed at the Uppal stadium. He said he had suggested naming the stadium after Rajiv Gandhi to then Former CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
“Sonia Gandhi was happy to name the cricket stadium named after Rajiv Gandhi but it did not have a statue of him. I am getting made a 13-feet tall statue of Rajiv Gandhi, weighing 1000 kg, in Amalapuram using my own money,” Hanumantha Rao said. He said that sculptor Srinath Wadiyar’s son, Raj Kumar Wadiyar, had designed the statue for the cricket stadium.
