Hyderabad: There were no fireworks at the beginning of the Telangana assembly’s budget session on Monday as the state govt steered clear of including any sharp remarks against the Centre in the inaugural speech drafted for the governor to read out. Newly appointed governor Shiv Pratap Shukla read out the entire 30-page document praising the Congress govt, lasting one hour and 10 minutes. It also said the state had aligned itself with the Centre’s ‘Viksit Bharat 2047 vision’.The governor, appointed on March 5, also created history of sorts on Monday by addressing the assembly’s budget session primarily in Hindi. This is the first time in the two Telugu states (including united Andhra Pradesh) that a governor has addressed legislators in Hindi.Shukla, who was the Himachal Pradesh governor until last month, had sparked a major controversy in the hill state’s assembly in Feb by refusing to read out portions of his speech that were critical of the Centre. At the time, he had wrapped up his speech in just a little over two minutes.By contrast, his speech in the Telangana assembly read: “…as we look toward the centenary of India’s independence, the govt has unveiled the ambitious ‘Telangana Rising Vision 2047′ document. This document has been prepared in line with Govt of India’s ‘Vikasit Bharat 2047 Vision’ and in consultation with the NITI Aayog and prestigious institutions of Hyderabad namely ISB and NALSAR University.”The governor also said the Telangana govt was moving beyond incremental growth to “chart a trajectory of exponential economic expansion. “Standing on the firm foundation of our current economic resilience, we are setting a transformative goal: to evolve Telangana into a $3 trillion economy by 2047, with an interim target of $1 trillion by 2034,” he said.Chief minister A Revanth Reddy has consistently maintained that he was not keen on fighting with the Narendra Modi-led central govt and would instead seek more funds for infrastructure projects in the state.Hindi echoes in houseShukla, who is originally from Uttar Pradesh, began the address in Telugu and stayed with it for more than four minutes before switching to Hindi. At different points, he also spoke in English before concluding again in Telugu.Historically, most governors, including ESL Narasimhan and Tamilisai Soundararajan, delivered their speeches in English. Tamilisai often began her addresses with a couple of lines in Telugu and Tamil before switching to English for the remainder of the speech.During his speech on Monday, Congress members greeted Shukla with loud applause, particularly when he made an effort to correctly pronounce some challenging Telugu words. For instance, he said, “Oka charitratmaka parivartana dashalo Telangana undaga manamandaram samavesham avutunnam (we are meeting at a time when Telangana is on the cusp of historical transition).” His speech drew appreciation from members, especially when he concluded with remarks in Telugu.
