Ministers see Naidu’s role in idol desecration at Ramateertham

‘He wants to ensure TDP win in Tirupati bypoll by hook or by crook’

Published - January 03, 2021 11:42 pm IST - VIZIANAGARAM

Ministers Botcha Satyanarayana and V. Srinivas interacting with the priest at the Kodandarama Swamy temple at Ramateertham on Sunday.

Ministers Botcha Satyanarayana and V. Srinivas interacting with the priest at the Kodandarama Swamy temple at Ramateertham on Sunday.

Ministers for Municipal Administration and Endowments B. Satyanarayana and V. Srinivas on Sunday alleged that former Chief Minister and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was behind the desecration of Lord Rama’s idol at the Kodandarama Swamy temple at Ramateertham a few days ago.

After visiting the temple and interacting with the priests, the Ministers also alleged that Mr. Naidu was raking up the issue for political survival and to win the ensuing byelection to the Tirupati Lok Sabha seat by hook or by crook.

Mr. Naidu, during his tenure, had never tried to protect the temples, including the one at Ramateertham, they alleged.

Snipe at Ashok

Defending the removal of senior TDP leader P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju from the chairmanship of three temples, Mr. Satyanarayana said, “Mr. Raju had never visited the hilltop temple. He had failed to take steps for its improvement and protection. He is now trying to utilise the incident to gain political mileage.”

He further said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had faith in God and never tried to use religion or caste for political gain.

Security mounted

Meanwhile, police department had deployed more forces at the temple to prevent all forms of agitations. The police also did not allow religious heads and activists of various Hindu organisations to visit the temple.

Vizianagaram Superintendent of Police B. Rajakumari reviewed the security measures in view of the agitations planned by several organisations in the next few days.

Senior BJP leader and MLC P.V.N. Madhav and other party leaders demanded an inquiry into the happenings at Ramateertham on Saturday wherein Vizianagaram parliamentary party president Reddi Pavani fainted during the tussle with the police personnel.

They also condemned the arrest of party State Executive Committee member N. Eswara Rao. The BJP leaders took out a protest rally in Vizianagaram, condemning the “police high handedness” at the temple.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.