VISAKHAPATNAM: Top BJP leaders, including party State executive members, Rajya Sabha members, MLCs and MLAs, will visit Ramatheertham in Vizianagaram district on Thursday.
Speaking to media persons, BJP State president Somu Veerraju said the party leaders would submit a memorandum at the Rama temple in Ramatheertham. He urged the authorities to allow them to visit Ramatheertham as was done in the case of YSRC MP Vijaya Sai Reddy and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on January 2.
The BJP will organise a yatra in the State covering all the vandalised temples, he said adding that the yatra schedule will be announced soon. The yatra will start from Ramatheertham and will cover temples such as Pithapuram, Pithapuram, Rajamahendravaram, Antarvedi and Vijayawada.
“The BJP cannot be silenced using brute force. Both YSRC and TDP are indulging in vote-bank politics and both the YSRC and TDP governments diverted temple funds,” he alleged. The previous TDP government diverted Rs 450 crore earmarked for the construction of Garuda Varadhi at Tirupati, he alleged.
“The ruling party is afraid of the BJP-Jana Sena. The previous TDP government had demolished several temples in Vijayawada. Though it constituted a committee for the construction of the temples, not even a single one was constructed. The YSRC government also did not construct any temple though it had reinstalled YSR statue within six months,” Somu said. The BJP-Jana Sena combine will prove its strength in the ensuing Tirupati bypoll, he asserted.
Earlier, addressing a dharna organised by the BJP against attacks on temples in the State, Veerraju said both YSRC and TDP were indulging in communal politics and blaming the BJP for the same. He condemned illegal arrests of BJP leaders on Monday.
MLC PVN Madhav said the government was replacing the hereditary trustees, and the temple committees have become political rehabilitation centres. “The YSRC leaders were given VIP treatment at Ramatheertham, but BJP leaders were caned when they wanted to visit the temple. The party will launch a State-wide agitation if the government tries to suppress the voice of BJP,” he warned.
BJP State general secretary Vishnuvardhan Reddy said over 2,000 BJP workers were arrested in the State. The government will have to face consequences if it does not allow BJP leaders to visit Ramatheertham, he said.