Amaravati: Vellampalli Srinivas slams BJP for stir over temple demolitions

Amaravati: Minister for endowments Vellampalli Srinivas slammed BJP leaders for protesting against the demolition of Hindu temples in Vijayawada city which took place during the previous government and said that the state government had already ordered reconstruction of those temples.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the minister said that the BJP leaders were intentionally creating chaos over the demolished temples and started protests after seeing the GO released by the government with political motives.

He questioned the BJP leader Somu Veeraju, why didn't he respond at the time of demolition, which happened when their own party person was endowments minister in TDP coalition government. He stated that the BJP leaders are playing cheap politics by taking this protest and trying to create communal disputes in the society.

He alleged that that hundreds of acres of temple lands were distributed during the previous TDP government. Srinivas asserted that the state government has been striving for the development of Hindu temples and thus allocated Rs 70 crore for developing Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada. He said that the BJP leaders have no moral right to speak on the Hindu temples as they stepped back without objecting the demolition of temples during the previous government.