AP BJP cadre protests in demand for permission to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi
Update: 2021-09-06 13:37 IST
Lord Ganesha
The Andhra Pradesh BJP cadre in several parts of the state have raised concerns, demanding permission for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in mandals. The party leaders and activists staged protests at district collectorates and other government offices.
The Andhra Pradesh BJP cadre in several parts of the state has raised concerns, demanding permission for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in mandals. The party leaders and activists staged protests at district collectorates and other government offices. Attempts were made to seige collectorates and sub-collectorates in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam, Guntur, Ongole, and Kadapa.
In Visakhapatnam, BJP leaders carried a statue of Ganesh on their heads and stormed into the collectorate. The scuffle erupted as police tried to stop them during the sequence and later the police arrested the protestors. State Sadhu Parishad president Srinivasananda Saraswati and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders took part in the siege of Visakhapatnam Collectorate. The agitators demanded that pujas be allowed in the mandals following the covid rules.
Meanwhile, state Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas has urged BJP leaders to refrain from religious politics. Speaking to the media on Monday, he lamented that Somu Veerraju was acting in a divisive manner between religions. He said the decision was taken on the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations with the centre's directions.
The minister said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was ruling the state without caste differences. Minister Vellampalli flagged off that BJP leaders who never questioned the TDP for demolishing temples in the past. "We have decided on the Ganesh festival based on the guidelines given by the Centre; the central government itself has given the covid guidelines," Vellampalli said.