Durgesh terms alleged insult to Lord’s portrait in council ‘unpardonable’
Rajamahendravaram: Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh on Saturday termed the alleged insult to a portrait of Lord Venkateswara Swamy in the Legislative Council by members of the YSRCP as an “unpardonable offence,” stating that it had deeply hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Addressing a press conference in Rajamahendravaram along with public representatives from East Godavari district and coalition leaders, the Minister said that if stringent action was not taken against such acts, similar incidents could recur in the future involving any deity or any religion.
Durgesh alleged that YSRCP members approached the podium in the Legislative Council wearing footwear while holding portraits of Lord Venkateswara. He said he was present in the House at the time when a Bill was being introduced on behalf of the Deputy Chief Minister. The Minister claimed that members of the House were left stunned after witnessing the portraits of the revered deity being waved in the air and later thrown down negligently.
He further alleged that the incident was not accidental but was carried out under the “screenplay and direction” of YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. As evidence of what he described as a pattern of behaviour, Durgesh referred to earlier controversies, including the alleged refusal to sign the Tirumala declaration and the alleged use of adulterated ghee in the preparation of laddu prasadam.
He said there were clear visuals showing YSRCP members holding the portraits while wearing footwear, the Minister criticised senior party leaders, such as Botcha Satyanarayana, for engaging in what he called diversionary arguments and levelling counter-allegations against the ruling party.
He accused the YSRCP leadership of lacking respect for democracy, Hinduism and voters' sentiments, and said the incident once again demonstrated an unwillingness to respect the sentiments of others. Durgesh stressed that individuals who have taken an oath on the Constitution are duty-bound to respect all religions. Calling upon all sections of society to condemn the incident, he urged that those responsible be held accountable.
MLAs Nallamilli Ramakrishna Reddy (Anaparthi), Muppidi Venkateswara Rao (Kovvur), Maddipati Venkataraju (Gopalapuram), and MLC Somu Veerraju were among those present at the press conference.
