The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Andhra Pradesh unit's president, Daggubati Purandeshwari, has called for a signature-gathering campaign in the state called ‘Our Temple - Our Right’, from Monday, August 28 to Wednesday, August 30 to protest the appointment of ‘nonbelievers’ and those against whom criminal cases are pending the accused to the governing bodies of Hindu temples.
The party’s call follows the appointment of Bhumana Karunakar Reddy as the chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board and two others who face corruption charges – Sarath Reddy, non-executive director of Aurobindo Pharma and Dr Ketan Desai, former president of Indian Medical Association. Bhumana Karunakar Reddy had earlier served as Chairman from 2006 to 2008.
Bhumana Karunakar Reddy denied claims of his atheism and Christian allegiance shortly after taking over as chairman at an event in Tirumala on Sunday, August 27. He emphasised his ‘accomplishments’ during his previous tenure as TTD chief and said, “I organised 32,000 mass weddings under the Kalyanamasthu programme to counter ‘religious conversions’. It is clear that I played a crucial part in the founding of Veda Vishwavidyalayam (university) and the implementation of the token system for ‘divya darshanam’ for visitors using the walkway route to the temple. I played a key role in the SVBC channel's establishment and the decision to forbid devotees from wearing shoes around the temple premises.” He added, "I will remain steadfast in my goal to equip this famous pilgrim spot with evermore facilities, despite allegations of certain individuals."
Several opposition parties circulated photos of his daughter’s Christian wedding to suggest his Christian affiliation, while also claiming he was an atheist. Such controversy also centred around YV Subba Reddy, former TTD chairman at the time of his appointment in 2021.
Two events occurred after Jagan took office as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, triggering widespread concerns First, a 60-year-old chariot used for festivals and special occasions at the Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Antarvedi, East Godavari district, caught fire on September 6, 2020. On December 29, 2020, priests at the ancient Ramatheertham temple found broken doors and a desecrated idol; the severed head was discovered in a nearby pond.
Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh have consistently attacked the Jagan Mohan Reddy administration using his Christian faith as a point of criticism. After forming the government in 2019, the political discourse in Andhra has shifted from caste politics to a Hindutva perspective, with most parties including BJP, Janasena and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), falling over each other to demonstrate their Hindu credentials.
Following the incident in Ramatheertham, both the TDP and the BJP have been asserting that there is an "orchestrated conspiracy" to attack temples in the state and that these incidents are interconnected.
The parties have alleged that religious conversions have been taking place in the state under CM Jagan's rule. Naidu alleged that Christian missionaries had converted people at all state temples. Similarly, Pawan Kalyan, the leader of the Jana Sena Party, expressed concern about alleged conversions near the Tirupati temple during his Rayalaseema tour in 2019. In 2021, BJP national president JP Nadda alleged that around 150 Hindu temples had been attacked in the state and state-sponsored conversions were going on continuously.
The fact that Jagan's brother-in-law Anil Kumar is an evangelist has also been used by political adversaries to suggest that Jagan has a hidden agenda of converting Hindus to Christianity.
Muralikrishnam Raju, a BJP leader from Vijayawada said, “Only people with dharmic ideals should be appointed as board members. We are not asking for more. YV Subba Reddy and Bhumana Karunakar Reddy or whoever it is, the ultimate decision rests with Jagan. Bhumana is a Christian, and there is a chance it will dilute Hindu beliefs. Sharat Reddy and others are accused in corruption cases. How can they be appointed to the administering body of a holy site? The institutions are being taken over by non-believers. There are frequent leopard attacks, and TTD has failed to assure the safety of pilgrims, scaring away many Hindus from the Seven Hills.”