Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday did not attend Republic Day celebrations held at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad, ANI reported.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan unfurled the national flag.

This was the second year in a row when the Telangana governor did not receive a guard of honour despite there being no coronavirus-related restrictions, according to NDTV.

Over the past year, there have been frequent conflicts between Soundararajan and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, with the governor criticising the functioning of the state government, and the BRS accusing her of being an agent of the Centre.

On Wednesday, the Telangana High Court had directed the state government to conduct full-fledged Republic Day celebrations, including the ceremonial parade, Bar and Bench reported. The court had directed it to allow the participation of citizens in the celebrations.

The state government had told the court that it intended to hold the celebrations only at the Raj Bhavan owing to the threat of Covid-19 pandemic. It also said that preparations were being made for webcasting the celebrations so that citizens could watch them.

However, the court said that the advocate general, representing the state, was not able to present any guidelines or standard operating procedures issued on how to carry out official functions in view of the Covid-19 situation.

Justice P Madhavi Devi said that the Centre had issued guidelines on Republic Day celebrations, and states and Union Territories were bound to follow them to the best of their ability.

“The Republic Day being a National Festival, has to be celebrated with national fervor, grandeur, gaiety and enthusiasm,” she directed.