Andhra CM orders CBI inquiry into Antarvedi chariot fire incident

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has decided to order a CBI inquiry into the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple’s chariot blaze in East Godavari district. The Andhra Pradesh government has released a GO in this regard also.

The six-decades old chariot of Antarvedi temple, which was being used during the procession of the Lord, was completely burnt to ashes in the wee hours of Sunday, resulting in protests from VHP Hindu groups, various political parties like TDP, BJP and Jana Sena. As the protests are likely to take a serious turn, CM Jagan quickly ordered a CBI inquiry into the incident.

“Some political parties have demanded for a CBI probe, the chief minister in order to manifest trans- parency has instructed the DGP to hand over the case to the premier investigation agency,” said a CMO note. The DGP office has written a letter to this effect to the Union Home Ministry seeking a CBI probe into the Antarvedi incident.

YSRCP spokesman Dr. Kammela Sridhar told “The Daily Guardian”, “From the beginning, we have been very transparent about it. The CBI will find out the truth behind the Chariot burning issue. Since it’s a sensitive issue, the CBI enquiry was ordered. The opposition tried to politicise it now all of them are silent. The government of Andhra Pradesh treats all religions equally there is no bias at all.”

Some YSRCP senior leaders like Vijay Sai Reddy are pointing fingers at Chandrababu for the Chariot fire. YSRCP parliamentary party chief and MP Vijay Sai Reddy tweeted, “We strongly believe that there was a clear case of conspiracy in the chariot burning by Chandrababu Naidu to create law and order issues in the state. He is sitting in Hyderabad and instigating violence in Andhra Pradesh.”

BJP leader Lanka Dinakar said, “The government should take the decision to hold CBI inquiry for not only Antarvedi Chariot fire damage conspiracy episode, but also damage of Goddess idols in Pithapuram. Apart from this, forcible Alienation of Hindu temple properties across the state and most particularly al- legations around Simhachalam Devasthanam merit CBI inquiry to protect the interest of the Hindus across the State.”

Janasena Party Chief Pawan Kalyan welcomed the decision but said he will raise his voice to protect the culture in the state. He has withdrawn the “Chalo Antarvedi” call.

BJP State President Somu Veerraju welcomed the YSRCP government’s decision and described it as a joint victory of the BJP and Jana Sena online Deeksha pro- tests. He said that the AP government was shaken at the thought of the ‘Chalo Antarvedi’ call given by their parties