The historic chariot fire incident at famous Antarvedi’s Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple has created a problem for the Jagan government in Andhra Pradesh.
Opposition parties such as TDP and BJP have mounted an attack on the Jagan Mohan Reddy government over the fire incident in which the 62-year-old wooden chariot was gutted. The cause of the mishap is not known yet. But the incident has led to massive political row, with the opposition and ruling parties trading charges.
Telugu Desam Party national president and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has condemned “about 20 attacks” on places of worship of different religions across Andhra Pradesh under the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) rule. He has demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to find who is behind these attacks and to nab the culprits.
Naidu, in a series of comments on Twitter, referred to how sacred chariots of temples were burnt to ashes while priests were coming under attack even as the propagation of other religions was being allowed under the present management of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). Even the historic Simhachalam Temple Board was illegally taken over, he has alleged. The TDP chief blamed these attacks on the ‘egoistic and tyrannical’ attitude of the ruling YSRCP in the state. There was a need for the CBI probe so that the culprits could be brought to the 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”, he said.
On the other hand, there was an illegal take-over of the Simhachalam temple board.
Accusing the ruling party of repeatedly hurting the sentiments of devotees, Chandrababu Naidu 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.
BJP MP Sujana Chowdary lambasted the Andhra Pradesh government for house arresting its party chief of Andhra Pradesh Somu Veerraju. He told The Daily Guardian, “I strongly condemn the actions of the government. The government should take stringent action against the culprits of the Chariot fire. After Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed office as the CM, there were 15 attacks on Hindu Temples. The idols were destroyed in Pithapuram and Bhuttayagudem, one chariot was set on fire in Nellore.”
BJP state president Somu Veerraju also criticised Jagan’s government for attacks on Hindu temples.