Hyderabad police cane protesting Ayyappa devotees, Bandi sees BRS downfall

Hyderabad: When Bairi Naresh, accused of making derogatory remarks about Lord Ayyappa, was being transferred to the Parigi sub-jail in Vikarabad on Saturday, the police lathicharged a large number of devotees who were holding a protest against him at the venue.

BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar condemned the lathicharge on the Ayyappa devotees and said the state government was protecting those disrespecting Hindu gods and punishing Hindu followers.

Sanjay demanded action against the police for caning Ayyappa devotees. While there were widespread protests in the Telugu states over remarks about Lord Ayyappa, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has remained silent on the issue, Sanjay said. The BRS government's downfall had begun with the police lathicharge on Ayyappa devotees, he said.

Sanjay slammed minister K.T.Rama Rao, alleging that the BRS leader was ready to react to a minor incident in north India but remained silent on the Lord Ayyappa matter, displaying his inherent bias against Hindus.

Sanjay added that the CM, who proclaimed to be a devout Hindu, did not respond when Hindu sensibilities were wounded. Similarly, his Cabinet colleagues do not care when the feelings of the majority Hindu community are offended, while swiftly reacting when an issue involving other religions arises, Sanjay claimed.

“The Chief Minister is adopting anti-Hindu policies while posing himself as a secularist. Hindu community will teach a fitting lesson to the ruling BRS party soon,” he said.

The police on Saturday arrested Naresh for allegedly making derogatory comments against Lord Ayyappa and other Hindu religious figures. When he was being shifted to the Parigi sub-jail, Lord Ayyappa devotees staged a protest on the national highway. The police claimed that they had to resort to lathicharge after the Ayyappa devotees tried to break the police cordon.

Meanwhile, Ayyappa devotees have filed a number of complaints in Vikarabad and elsewhere, requesting that the police detain Naresh under the PD Act for making disparaging remarks about Lord Ayyappa.