YSRCP leader Kottu Satyanarayana.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
YSRCP leader Kottu Satyanarayana has criticised BJP State president D. Purandeswari for her remarks during the ‘Hindu Shankharavam’ meeting held near Vijayawada.
Speaking at the YSRCP office on Tuesday, he accused Ms. Purandeswari of making politically motivated allegations to benefit her brother-in-law and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
“It is unfortunate that Ms. Purandeswari used a platform meant to uphold Hindu Dharma for baseless political accusations. Her primary agenda is to safeguard Mr. Naidu’s interests and not Hindu values,” the former Minister alleged.
Mr. Satyanarayana said that the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government had made significant contributions to promote the Hindu Dharma including the restoration of temples, increasing the salary of priests, abolition of retirement rules for priests, and resolution of long-pending temple land disputes.
“Unlike Mr. Naidu’s tenure, which saw demolitions of temple and desecration of idols, the YSRCP government had prioritised the development of temples with the investment of ₹600 crore and protection of temple lands,” he said.
Ms. Satyanarayana accused Ms. Purandeswari of ignoring the TDP government’s failures, aush as demolishing 40 temples during the Krishna Pushkarams and poor handling of the Godavari Pushkarams, which led to 29 deaths. “She remained silent then, but now is making baseless allegations for political gain,” he remarked.
The former Minister noted that the YSRCP government had freed temples earning below ₹5 lakh from the control of the government, built 3,000 new temples using SriVani Trust funds, and initiated major projects at Kanakadurga and Srisailam temples.
“Ms. Purandeswari’s remarks are a diversionary tactic by the BJP-TDP coalition. The YSRCP government’s revolutionary measures to protect Hindu traditions and temple lands speak louder than politically charged words of Ms Purandeswari,” he added.
Published – January 08, 2025 08:29 am IST
