Amidst a raging controversy in Andhra Pradesh over the vandalisation of an idol of Lord Rama at a temple near Ramatheertham in Vizianagaram district, the state government on Saturday removed Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former Union Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju from the post of Chairman of the temple. Ashok was removed as Chairman of three temples, which were founded by his family — the Vizianagaram royal family of Pusapati Rajus, for his failure to take steps to prevent the vandalisation of the Lord Rama idol, according to a government memo.
The idol of Lord Rama in Sri Rama Swamy Devasthanam, located on a hilltop near Ramatheertham village of Nellimarla mandal, is believed to have been vandalised by unidentified persons on the night of December 28. The incident has led to outrage by opposition parties Telugu Desam Party (TDP), BJP and its ally, Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party.
Tension prevailed at Ramatheertham on Saturday as ruling YSRCP leaders visited the temple, and protesting leaders of the BJP and TDP were stopped from visiting the temple. While TDP and BJP alleged that the YSRCP has failed to protect the temples in the state, YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy alleged that the TDP was behind the Ramatheertham incident, in an attempt to malign the YSRCP government. He pointed out that TDP leader Ashok Gajapathi Raju was still the chairman of the temple board at the time of the incident.
Apart from the Ramatheertham temple, Ashok was also removed as Chairman of another temple in Vizianagaram (Sri Pyditalli Ammavari Devasthanam), and a temple in Mandapalli of East Godavari district. The memo said that he “has failed to discharge his legitimate duties and address the issues relating to the security aspects of the temple and failed to take steps to prevent the vandalisation” of the idol at the Ramatheertham temple.
Nara Lokesh, TDP MLC and son of Chandrababu Naidu, objected to the move, saying it was Ashok’s ancestors who built the temple. Ashok had served as the Union Minister of Civil Aviation in the Narendra Modi cabinet, until the BJP and TDP parted ways in 2018 over the issue of granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
In March 2020, the YSRCP government had removed him as the chairperson of the Simhachalam Devasthanam Board and the MANSAS Trust (which manages several educational institutions in Vizianagaram), and appointed his niece Sanchaita Gajapathi in the post.
Meanwhile, Vizianagaram Superintendent of Police (SP) B Raja Kumari on Saturday said that five special teams had been formed to investigate the incident, and 12 suspects have been detained for questioning. She said that the incident appears to have occurred a day before the CCTV cameras installed in the temple became operational.
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