Congress, BJP spar on temples in Dalit colonies

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president YS Sharmila’s remarks urging the state government to prioritise infrastructure in Dalit colonies over temple construction triggered a sharp counter from BJP state president P V N Madhav, who accused her of provoking religious hatred and misleading the public.

Sharmila questioned whether it was wrong to seek basic facilities in Dalit localities before focusing on temple projects, recalling the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s observation in July that 228 Dalit students were forced to share a single bathroom. “Before building temples in Dalit localities, the government should focus on schools and infrastructure. Is it wrong to ask this?” she said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PCC chief reminded that in July the Andhra Pradesh High Court had observed that 228 Dalit students were compelled to use one single bathroom where they were studying and questioned if she was wrong to advise the government to focus on this issue. ”Before focusing on building temples in Dalit localities, government’s attention should first be on schools and providing basic infrastructure there. Is it wrong to ask this?” asked Sharmila in a statement.

The APCC chief alleged that the NDA coalition government is misusing Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) funds while turning a blind eye to Dalit welfare, cautioning that the chief minister must not appear biased towards one religion. ”Neither I nor the Congress Party is against Hindu religion.

She reminded that she was the first to demand a CBI probe into the Tirumala laddu controversy, calling it a grave sacrilege that hurt devotees’ sentiments, but lamented that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu ’failed to respond responsibly’.

Meanwhile, BJP state president P V N Madhav criticised Sharmila, accusing her of provoking religious hatred and ’misleading the public’. Madhav said Sharmila does not even understand the meaning of RSS and is making statements that allegedly inflame communal tensions across the state.

“She, along with her husband, has personally carried out religious conversions. Yet such a person has been made the APCC president,” he said in a BJP press release.

Madhav alleged that the Congress is indulging in religious politics while unfairly blaming the BJP, and warned that ”forced religious conversions would be firmly prevented”. The BJP gives ’utmost respect to BR Ambedkar’s ideology and stands firmly for social justice’, he added.