Glowing tributes were paid to freedom fighter Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu on his 151st birth anniversary across South Coastal Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
In Ongole, YSR Congress Party Regional Coordinator and former State Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy led people in recalling the supreme sacrifices made by the leader, also known as Andhra Kesari, during the independence movement.
District Collector A.S. Dinesh Kumar exhorted the youth to draw inspiration from the lawyer-turned-politician who sacrificed his personal wealth for the nation.
The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry organised the celebrations as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at Bapaneni Venkateswarlu Sri Prakasam Memorial Degree College in Ongole, said Nellore and Ongole Field Publicity Officer P. Naga Sai Suri.
Doordarshan former Deputy Director General R. Ananda Padmanabha, who led a rally by students, exhorted the youth to contribute their mite in nation building.
In Nellore, District Collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu, Zilla Parishad Chairperson Anam Arunamma, Nellore Mayor P. Sravanthi paid floral tributes to the statue of the Statesman at the Madras bus stand centre and recalled his contributions as the first Chief Minister of Andhra State, carved out of Madras State, in 1953. V. Guravaiah and Avanigadda Sivaramaiah, descendants of freedom fighters, were honoured on the occasion.
Andhra Pradesh Brahmana Seva Sangam president V. Chandra Mouli urged the Union government to confer Bharat Ratna on Prakasam Pantulu posthumously for his contributions during freedom struggle and in independent India.
The celebrations were also organised at the Salt Satyagraha site of Devarampadu in Prakasam district.
