AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday paid rich tributes to Pingali Venkayya, the legendary designer of the Indian national flag on his 146th birth anniversary. The Andhara government organised the birth anniversary celebrations as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.

The chief minister hosted the national flag, took the salute from police, and decorated the statue of the freedom fighter during an event held at his official residence in Tadepalle. The also inaugurated a photo exhibition on the life of Pingali Venkayya. He also unveiled the image of Pingali that Regulla Mallikharjuna Rao, the department's director of culture, had painted.

Senior government officials including the Minister for Panchayat Raj Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, and others attended the event.

On the occasion of Pingali's birth anniversary, former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also paid tribute to him. The leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) claimed that by creating the national flag, the great son of the land earned a special place in the hearts of millions of Indians. Naidu said that the nation's call to hoist the tricolour on every house as part of 'Azadi-Ka-Amrit-Mahotsav' is the honour for Telugu-speaking people, thanks to Pingali Venkayya.

The former chief minister recalled Pingali's contributions to science and education in addition to the freedom struggle.
Pingali, who was born on August 2, 1876, not far from Machilipatnam, created numerous iterations of the national flag. During the Vijayawada conference of the Indian National Congress, Mahatma Gandhi gave his approval to a design in 1921.

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