Semi Christmas Celebrations by Chief Minister of Telangana
Chief Minister of Telangana, Mr. Revanth Reddy, showed true statesmanship and leadership in his speech to the gathered leaders from the Christian community and church members at LB Stadium, Hyderabad, on 21 December 2024.
He made several important statements, such as:
1. There will be no discrimination or looking down on anyone in the state because of their religion.
2. Everyone can practice their religion freely, including Christians preaching about their faith without hindrance.
3. He requested Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Mr. Mukesh Kumar Goud, who came and greeted all the leaders personally and was present in the meeting to ensure proper representation of the Christian community in party positions and leadership posts.
4. He showed his magnanimity by appreciating the quality education and healthcare provided by Christian missionaries.
5. He highlighted the high standards of their educational institutes as exemplary.
6. He commended missionaries for providing healthcare in remote areas, often competing with government healthcare systems.
7. He emphasized the teaching of Jesus, "Love your neighbor as yourself," as one of the best principles, echoing the saying "Manava sevaye Madhava Seva" (Service to humans is service to God).
8. He illustrated schemes like the 500 rupees LPG gas supply, which benefit rural and economically downtrodden Christians.
Mr. Deepak John, Chairman of the Telangana State Christian Finance Corporation, took significant efforts to see good mobilisation of people to this Semi Christmas celebration. The appointment of 50 Constituency coordinators and delegating them the task of mobilizing Christians for this celebration was a good step by the Corporation Chairman. They worked very hard, and many leaders were happy to relate to someone in their area.
Mr. Anil Thomas, National Vice President of the All India Congress Committee, made several key visits to ensure all major denominations and key leaders were represented on stage for this Semi Christmas celebration. He constantly networks with important Christian leaders to collaborate with the government of Telangana under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Mr. Revanth Reddy.
The community is filled with hope and eagerly anticipating the implementation of these and other schemes, particularly the scholarships and economic empowerment loans for Christians, to become a reality soon. This will enable the community to continue their services in providing quality education, healthcare, and sharing life-transformative messages to bring the needed changes in society to love one another as themselves.
Notes taken by The Rt Rev. Dr. Sam Paul Kolakaluri, Founder President of the National Christian Council, with inputs from several NCC leaders who participated in this Semi Christmas Celebration. The key NCC leaders who participated include: Rev. Prashanth Kumar Battula, Mrs. Beulah Sundaramani, Rev. Brighty Beulah, Mr. T. Sanjeev, Mr. Isaac Samuel, Pastor Venu Joseph NCC Jharkhand leader visiting Hyderabad, Mr. Prabhu Krupakar, Pastor Dayakar, and others.
