Telangana BJP seeks Governor's intervention to stop attacks on temple

Hyderabad, Oct (IANS) The leaders of the Telangana unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday sought Governor Jishnu Dev Varma's intervention to stop attacks on temples.

A delegation of BJP leaders met the Governor at Raj Bhavan and voiced their concern over attacks on temples in the state.

They also submitted a representation to the Governor about the Muthyalamma temple incident in Secunderabad and appealed to him to hand over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The leaders also condemned the cases registered against leaders of Hindu organisations and the police cane charge on protesters.

MPs Eatala Rajender, K. Vishweshwar Reddy, M. Raghunandan Rao, BJP floor leader in Telangana Assembly A. Maheshwar Reddy, and other leaders called on the Governor.

Later, Rajender told reporters that the state government was booking false cases about the leaders of Hindu organisations. He said they appealed to the Governor to intervene and revoke the cases on them.

The BJP alleged that some forces were inciting attacks on the Hindu community in Telangana and running training centers to prepare the youth as terrorists. It criticized the Congress government in the state for ignoring the "well-planned" attacks.

The BJP leaders told the Governor that the police resorted to brutal cane-charge on the Hindus who were protesting peacefully.

Earlier, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy alleged that the police under the Congress government have been arresting activists of various Hindu organisations across the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

"The Congress government, instead of protecting and safeguarding the temples, is resorting to violence against members of various Hindu organisations and arresting them," he posted on X.

G. Kishan Reddy, who is also state BJP president, said he spoke to the Director General of Police and conveyed strong objections to these arrests, stating unequivocally that these arrests are vitiating the atmosphere in the twin cities.

Police on October 19 resorted to a cane charge on a group of people at Muthyalamma temple when they were staging a protest against the recent act of vandalism.

Police said they had to use mild force to control the mob as it had turned violent and was trying to move towards a nearby mosque and a hotel to attack them.

A man had barged into the temple on October 14 and desecrated the main idol of the temple. Locals caught hold of the person, thrashed him and later handed him over to police.

Police identified the accused as Salman Salim Thakur alias Salman, a native of Mumbra, near Mumbai.