Following the appalling desecration of a murti of Shri Rama at a temple in Ramateertham, Andhra Pradesh, more such incidents of desecration have occurred and have come to light.
On Friday morning, priests of the Vigneshwara temple in Sriramnagar in Rajahmundry found the two arms of the vigraha of Lord Subrahmanya severed. The culprits remain unidentified. Rajahmundry is in the same East Godavari district as Antarvedi, where the decades old wooden chariot of Lakshminarasimha Swamy was burned down under mysterious circumstances in September. Here too, the culprits remain unidentified.
Another case of temple desecration has occurred at the Komalamma Temple near Vantlamamidi near Paderu, in Vishakhapatnam district. Miscreants damaged the feet of the deity Komalamma in a temple adjacent to the famous Modakondamma temple. Devotees who went there on Friday morning to have darshan of Komalamma’s padalu (feet) on the occasion of the New Year were shocked to find the feet damaged.
According to local tradition, devotees first offer prayers to Modakondamma and then seek blessings from her younger sister Komalamma. Modakondamma is one of the prominent deities of the Paderu region. Believed to be the shakti-peetham of the region, lakhs of Hindus participate in the festival held in honour of the deity every summer.
Efforts are on to identify people who vandalised the Komalamma temple, senior police officials said.
However, opposition parties are accusing the Reddy government of a disregard towards Hindu traditions and institutions which, they say, is encouraging such hateful crimes. “Attacks on temples has become a daily occurrence, because of the government’s indifference. Neither the public nor the gods inside the temple are safe in the state. Matters would not have come this far if stern action was taken in the first such case. The government has the responsibility to safeguard the sentiments of all communities,” former CM Chandrababu Naidu remarked while condemning the Rajahmundry incident on Friday.
Andhra Pradesh BJP chief Somu Veerraju warned that his party would intensify its agitation if the YSRCP government fails further in arresting the culprits and putting a stop to the temple vandalism.
There have been unabated acts of vandalism and desecration at several temples across the southern state of Andhra Pradesh since January last year. This has left the Hindu devotees and organisations distraught and enraged.