K T Rama Rao treads a different path

HYDERABAD: He has accompanied and stood by his father at every step. However, when it comes to matters of religious faith, the son prefers to stay away. This is because he is a non-believer.And that is why Telangana IT and municipal administration minister K T Rama Rao was conspicuous by his absence when his god-fearing father and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao undertook a pilgrimage to Tirumala on Wednesday and fulfilled his promise of offering gold ornaments to Lord Venkateshwara for having been swept to power in 2014.
“He does not believe in god, never visits temples and religious places and refuses to participate in religious events. He is an atheist,“ said a close aide of KTR.
Everyone is entitled to his or her own beliefs, and the pro-active industries minister prefers to focus on the work ahead of him rather than debate over abstract issues. According to sources, before the Tirumala visit, despite a request from everyone in the family , KTR refused to accompany them. However, his two children accompanied their grandparents to Tirumala on Wednesday .
Even when KCR organized the Ayutha Chandi Yagam last year, he had to direct KTR to be present at the site irrespective of his beliefs.Notwithstanding his view on religion and god, KTR always stood for tolerance in society.While defending his father against criticism from some quarters on performing rituals, KTR commented at a press meet after the Yagam: “Irrespective of what faith you practice, or whether you are an atheist and agnostic, the need is to be tolerant.Being IT minister is my job, so I promote science. But as an individual, I have my beliefs“.
KTR who holds two postgraduate degrees, one in Biotechnology from the University of Pune and Master of Business Administration in Marketing and the other in ECommerce from the City University of New York (CUNY), USA, gives top priority to working for the betterment of fellow human beings.