HYDERABAD: Sparking yet another controversy, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, on Sunday, August 1, 2021, said Hyderabad was not a heritage city of the Nawabs but that of Hindus, and appealed to the public not to believe in the ‘false narrative’. He was speaking at Lal Darwaza Mahankali temple in the Old City on the occasion of Bonalu festival.
Addressing the gathering, Sanjay Kumar said that when a plague broke out in 1883, the soldiers prayed to the goddess at the Lal Darwaza, seeking protection from the disease.“Recently, I saw an article in a newspaper stating that Hyderabad belonged to the Nawabs. Does this city belong to Nawabs? There were no Nawabs during that time. The Sanatana Dharma is not a recent one. It is ancient. And therefore, this city belongs to Hindus,” Sanjay Kumar said.
He said that the reason behind celebrating festivals like Bonalu was to unify Hindus. “The real objective of these festivals will be achieved only when Hindus come forward to help each other during troubling times,” he added. Incidentally, former MP and BJP leader Vijayashanti vowed to offer Bangaru Bonam to the goddess, if the BJP came to power in the next elections.