Tadepalli, March 14: Former MLA Malladi Vishnu has strongly condemned the demolition of structures at the sacred Kasinayana Jyothi Kshetram, holding the coalition government responsible for the act.
Addressing the media at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, Vishnu stated that lakhs of devotees from three states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, consider this site highly sacred. He criticized the large-scale demolition carried out by the forest department and questioned how such actions could take place under the leadership of Pawan Kalyan, who claims to be a protector of Sanatana Dharma.
Vishnu pointed out that the structures demolished included facilities such as community kitchens, resting places for devotees, a cowshed, and service centers, all of which were vital for the functioning of the sacred site. He accused the government of failing to protect Hindu religious sites and questioned why Pawan Kalyan remained silent for over ten days since the incident.
He also criticized Minister Nara Lokesh for offering an apology in the Assembly and promising to rebuild the demolished structures at his own expense. Vishnu labeled this as a mere political stunt, questioning why Pawan Kalyan, the minister in charge of the forest department, did not take responsibility or issue an apology himself. He remarked that the ruling TDP government was playing politics with Hindu sentiments while failing to provide genuine protection to religious sites.
Vishnu further revealed that former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had written a letter to the Union Forest Minister on August 18, 2023, requesting the exclusion of 13 hectares of land from the reserve forest category to safeguard the sanctity of Kasinayana Jyothi Kshetram. He questioned why Pawan Kalyan had not pursued similar efforts to protect the temple lands.
Highlighting past incidents, he recalled that during the TDP rule, 42 temples in Vijayawada were demolished, 28 people lost their lives in the Godavari Pushkar tragedy due to Chandrababu Naidu’s mismanagement, and the thousand-pillar mandapam in Tirumala was destroyed. He also mentioned that a person accused of beheading Lord Rama’s idol at Ramatheertham was granted financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Malladi Vishnu asserted that the coalition government had failed to protect Hindu temples and religious sentiments. He called on the people to question the silence of Pawan Kalyan and the political hypocrisy of the ruling alliance, stating that Hindus in the state would not forgive such negligence and betrayal.
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