BJP Warns Temple Authorities Over Shifting of Idol
The endowments department had decided to reconstruct the temple with a stone structure without shifting or touching the main idols of Lord Rama.
Kakinada:The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kakinada unit has warned the authorities and trust board of the century-old Lord Sitarama temple on Main Road against undertaking construction works or shifting idols without informing devotees.
The endowments department had decided to reconstruct the temple with a stone structure without shifting or touching the main idols of Lord Rama. However, the temple trust authorities recently shifted the Lord Anjaneyaswami idol without informing devotees, BJP leaders alleged.
A team of BJP leaders, including Kakinada district president Bikkina Visweswara Rao, spokesperson Yargadda Ramkumar, Duvvuri Subrahmanyam and Kundala Sai Kumar, visited the temple and enquired about the issue.
Visweswara Rao found fault with the authorities for shifting the Hanuman idol without consulting devotees. He also questioned trust board chairman P. Viswanatham over the decision.
He said the trust board and temple authorities should consult Hindu associations before taking decisions on temple development works and stressed the need to involve their representatives in such activities.
Ramkumar expressed anger over the shifting of the idol, while Subrahmanyam asked the trust board whether a resolution had been passed on the issue and sought the minutes book. The trust board chairman said no meeting had been held on the matter, according to the BJP leaders.
The authorities told the BJP leaders that the work had been carried out according to Hindu traditions.
Temples Protection Samithi convener D. N. Ramesh said he had brought the issue to the notice of the deputy commissioner and commissioner but no action had been taken against the authorities. He demanded action against the Kakinada deputy commissioner and appointment of an IAS officer as endowments commissioner.