ANDHRA CM JAGAN LAUNCHES COW WORSHIP PROGRAMME AMID TEMPLE CONTROVERSIES

HYDERABAD: The leader of opposition of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu has continuously accusesd Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy as Christian CM and he himself is facing criticism for the attacks on temples. Amid all these controversies the CM has been visiting the Hindu Temples. He has laid the foundation for revival of temples which were demolished during Naidu’s regime in Vijayawada and sanctioned 77 crores of rupees for the famous Vijayawada Kanaka Durga Temple.

Now Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy visited Narasaraopet Municipal Stadium where he took part in the ‘Gopuja’ (cow worship) programme. The CM, his Ministers and MLAs have embarked on a state wide programme to do ‘cow worship’ programmes at over 2,679 temples. All this is being taken up under the auspices of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and the AP Endowments Department. The ruling YCP leaders say that it is their Chief Minister’s new call to all the devotees to worship the cow and realise its significance in the Indian way of life. The ISKCON organisers are actively participating in this new ‘Gopuja’ programme of the Jagan Reddy regime. As part of this campaign, the CM has himself directly entered the scene. Posters are pasted at all the temples on the ‘Gopuja’ details and the importance of ‘cow products’. On the other hand, the political rivals and the Hindu organisations are holding campaigns for protection of the temples and idols.

TDP Andhra unit president K Atchan Naidu has alleged that Jagan was using the most sacred ‘Gopuja’ (cow worship) programme for deriving political mileage. He said that Jagan had a knack for ‘doing bankrupt politics’ in each and every issue right from the beginning. The cow worship was also part of his strategy to mix religion with politics. “Nobody would believe the Chief Minister’s trust or faith in any God or religion,” Atchan said.