The house arrest of BJP State president Somu Veerraju and the arrest of the representatives of various Hindu religious organisations who have gone to Antarvedi to protest against the alleged torching of the temple chariot has been severely condemned the BJP leaders.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, MLC P.V.N. Madhav and former MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju demanded the unconditional release of the religious leaders, arrest of the accused and a CBI probe into the fire accident.
“As many as 15 incidents of attacks on temples and institutions have been reported in Andhra Pradesh after the YSRCP came to power,” they alleged.
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Mr. Madhav alleged that the YSRCP government was trying to dismiss the burning of the temple chariot as a lunatic act. In a similar way, the government dismissed the attacks on temples at Pithapuram and Bitragunta. He opined that the government was trying to avoid a probe with such frivolous remarks.
While the opposition was demanding action against the accused, cases were being booked against the protesters, Mr. Madhav said.
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The allocation of funds to the Brahmin Welfare Corporation from the Endowments Department showed that the YSRCP government did not know about Hindu traditions, he said. It was not just people from the community, but devotees belonging to other castes also make ‘hundi’ offerings and donate to the temples. He opined that both the YSRCP and TDP had scant respect for Hindu traditions and sentiments.
Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju said it was strange that attacks on temples were happening regularly only in Andhra Pradesh. In the BJP-ruled States, there were no attacks on religious institutions of other communities. “If there are stray incidents, the respective State governments are initiating strict measures to control them,” he claimed.