AP govt. constitutes Religious Harmony Committees to tackle attacks on temples

The government of Andhra Pradesh headed by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has taken the incidents of attacks on temples and destruction of idols in Andhra Pradesh seriously. It has taken the crucial decision to see to it that such things were not repeated in the future. For this, the government has issued orders setting up religious harmony committees at the state and district levels. A state-level committee headed by Chief Secretary Adityanath Das will be set up.

The 20-member committee will include the chief secretaries of the home, revenue and minority welfare departments. The member of the State Committee shall be the Chief Secretary of the General Administration. The order states that the state committee will have a representative from all religions as members. He said district-level committees headed by collectors would also be set up.

Andhra Pradesh CS Adityanath Das said the state's reputation was deteriorating due to a series of incidents. He said that the conditions that are damaging religious harmony are causing problems hence state level and district level committees have been set up and GO No. 6 has been released. He said the forces trying to create unrest would be dealt harshly. He said that these committees would work for the preservation of religious harmony and that there was no time limit for these committees. He said there was a deep conspiracy behind the attacks.

Chief Secretary Adityanath Das said that the authorities, police and religious leaders should all be held accountable for cracking down on such incidents. He said people who commit irregularities are escaping when such crimes are committed that is why we are setting up such committees. CS will be the chairman of the state-level committee, DGP will be the vice-chairman, members of all religions will be members, Home Principal Secretary, Revenue Principal Secretary, Minority Welfare Principal Secretary and GAD Principal Secretary will be the convener. CS clarified that the Collector will act as the Chairman at the district level.