Attacks on places of worship, priests are state-sponsored: Naidu

Amaravati: Telugu Desam Party national president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday vehemently condemned the 'continuous attacks' on places of worship of different religions across Andhra Pradesh and demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter to nab the culprits.

Naidu, in a series of comments on Twitter, referred to how sacred chariots of temples were being burnt to ashes while priests were coming under attack even as the propagation of other religions was being allowed under the present management of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Even the historic Simhachalam Temple Board was illegally taken over, he said.

Andhra Pradesh has been a progressive, pluralistic State where all faiths have thrived & co-existed peacefully. However, under the tyrannical YSRCP regime, people of AP are now fearful of a continuous state-sponsored attack on their faiths. More than 20 such attacks have occurred pic.twitter.com/rogADCo6eq

— N Chandrababu Naidu #StayHomeSaveLives (@ncbn) September 9, 2020

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The TDP chief blamed these attacks on the 'egoistic and tyrannical' attitude of the ruling YSRCP in the state. “There is a need for the CBI to probe so that the culprits responsible for the incidents would be brought to book.”

Naidu asserted that AP has been a progressive, pluralistic state where all faiths have thrived and co-existed peacefully. "However, under the tyrannical YSRCP regime, people of AP are now fearful of a continuous state-sponsored attack on their faiths. More than 20 such attacks have occurred during the last one year," he said.

The TDP chief suspected that there seemed to be a pattern in the occurrence of continuous attacks on different faiths. From charring of sacred chariot at Antarvedi and Bitragunta to the idols being demolished at Pithapuram, there appears to be a pattern in these incidents. There were also attacks on priests like in the Devarampadu incident, he reminded.

“There are complaints on propagation of other religions under the management of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. On the other hand, the Simhachalam Temple Board was taken over illegally,” he said and accused the ruling party of repeatedly hurting the sentiments of devotees.

He said that an egoistic YSRCP government was driven by a lack of regard for the sanctity of temples and it was looking the other way. The TDP condemns all these attacks on faiths in the strongest possible terms, he said. “As a responsible Opposition party, the TDP is demanding a CBI inquiry into all the incidents and attacks under the present regime.”

Recently, the gutting of an ancient chariot at Antarvedi Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple had caused widespread unrest. The TDP had already sent a committee of its leaders who sought a judicial enquiry into the incident.