Vijayawada, Jul 4 (PTI) TDP supremo and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday promised to erect a memorial for freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju in Amaravati and name the upcoming Bhogapuram international airport after him once the party returned to power in the state.

Naidu made these announcements in Vijayawada during the closing ceremony of a programme to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Raju, a freedom fighter who fought against the tyrannies of the British government during the colonial era and attained martyrdom.

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"Raju had taken the initiative to stand by the people after closely following the crude laws being implemented in the forest areas in Madras Presidency and the outrageous activities in the tribal belts,” said Naidu in a press note on Tuesday.

Comparing Raju to Subash Chandra Bose, Naidu noted that the former took to armed rebellion while Mahatma Gandhi fought for independence in a non-violent way.

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Moreover, the TDP supremo questioned as to why the state government was not organising programmes to mark Raju's birth centenary.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)