Hindu sentiments and Hindu temples are routinely being targeted ever since the Christian Chief Minister, Jaganmohan Reddy assumed office in 2019. Around 120 temples in the state have been attacked in the last 19 months of YSRC rule. On Tuesday, an idol of Bhagwan Ram was vandalised in the revered holy and ancient Ramateertham Temple atop a hill located 12 kilometres from Vizianagaram.

The temple is located in Bodikonda under Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. The incident of breaking of Bhagwan Ram idol at the temple came to light when the priest came to offer the daily pujas at the temple. The locks of the temple were broken and idols of the temple were found destroyed by the pujari.

The Ramateertham temple is revered by people of Uttara Andhra and adjacent Odisha districts who consider the temple in Nellimarla Mandal as second Bhadradri. This incident of vandalism has triggered huge protests and tensions in the area. Hindus came out in huge numbers and demanded strict action against the abhorrent iconoclasts who are now routinely targeting Hindu temples.

The District Superintendent, Raj Kumari has assured swift investigation and action against the criminals who vandalised the idol of Bhagwan Ram at the said temple. While the Chief Minister who is known for his Christian leanings did not make any statements condemning the breaking of the idol nor has he personally warned criminals who indulge in such deplorable acts of breaking temples as a habit in Andhra. This has angered the Hindu community at large and there is a palpable feeling of insecurity among them for the safety of their revered temples.

Notably, only few days back the crypto-Christian administrators of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam used lighting arrangements at the famous Balaji Temple at Tirumala which looked like a series of  Christian Cross interspersed with Vaishnava motifs. There was a huge uproar in the social media against this despicable act of the administrators after which the administration was forced to remove the hideous Cross images lighting.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Christian CM  provides a conducive environment for his pastor brother-in-law, Anil Kumar who is Chairman of Anil World Evangelism, to convert vulnerable Hindu villagers to Christianity by selectively offering Rs. 5,000 salary per month for all pastors in Andhra Pradesh. Even the much-touted volunteer honorarium of Rs. 5000 per month provided to 10 youths from every village in Andhra to boost employment is offered to only Christian youths in practice. So, Jaganmohan Reddy instead of being a Chief Minister enjoined by law to look after the welfare of all Andhra people seems to be only catering to his Christian subjects.

Even the opposition leader and ex- Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu pointed out that the regular attack on temples in Andhra, 120 since YSRC assumed power in 2019, seems to be perpetrated as a conspiracy against the Hindu community as reported in the New Indian Express dated 30.12.2020. Incidentally, though the Christian CM is mum about condemning the growing attacks and vandalism on Hindu temples and the latest incident of breaking the Bhagwan Ram idol at Ramateertham temple, he is slated to visit Vizianagaram today.

It is high time that the Chief Minister starts performing his Raj Dharma and fulfils his constitutional duties under the Constitution of India as he is not the head of a Christian State like the Vatican City as he would like to believe. Andhra Pradesh houses many ancient magnificent Hindu temples which needs due protection and if CM Jaganmohan Reddy is unable to protect the religious heritage of Hindus, due to his hatred for idol worship and Christian beliefs, he should either voluntarily step down or the Centre should issue the State Government of Andhra Pradesh due directions to ensure safety and security of lives and property of all religious communities of the state without any discrimination. If the situation persists, even after the central directions, the centre should seriously consider imposition of President’s Rule to save the priceless ancient heritage of Hindus and end the gross discrimination against Hindus perpetrated by the evangelist YSRC government.   

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