THE HINDU Devalaya Pariraksana Samithi (HDPP) led by Kamal Kumar Swami will be conducting a six-moths ’Maha Pada Yatra’ protesting against Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government’s anti-Hindu policies. The entourage will cover more than 4000 kilometers, walk through nearly 1000 villages, visit nearly 1000 temples, and involve lakhs of people.
’Maha Pada Yatra’ will start on August, 2008 from Srikakulam district and will conclude in Tirupathi on February ,2009. Before the start of Maha Pada Yatra, the team will go to Tirupathi to seek Sri Balaji’s blessings and also visit 15 nearby temples to update the planned Pada Yatra and update the progress of the movement to free the temples from the government’s control and to demand the scrap of Hindu Endowment Act.
The main demands of the campaign would be to protest against the selling of temple lands and diversion of temple funds in the state and the government order (GO) granting subsidy to Christians to go to Jerusalem, Bethelham and other places.
The main provocation for the stir came from Nellore district, where recently the state government had sold five acres of temple land belonging to Sri Talpagiri Ranganayakula Swami Temple in Nellore. The land was sold inspite of protests and demand to stop the auction by the devotees.
Another provocation was government’s GO setting aside Rs 2 crores for Christians to go to Jerusalem Bethelham etc using government money. Swami alleged that Reddy’s Congress government is taking drastic steps to sell temple lands, is continuing without any hindrance.
Instead of protecting the hundreds of years of temple properties of the ancient ancestral heritage, the government is now selling away in the name of public auction for the selfish activities of the politicians.
Today what is happening in Nellore is a part of those activities by the local Congress MLA Anam Vivekananda Reddy. Five acres land of Talapagiri Ranganayakula Swamy temple was sold away in the name of public auction that shows the sincerity of the government towards temples.
In the public notice, it was mentioned that the land the government was selling was declared as wet land, which means the land is a fertile land yielding crops. That means the land is generating good economical support to the temple. They are selling the land in the name of public auction to satisfy their selfish activities and they are saying ’it is getting encroached by the people that is why we are selling’.
Under the leadership and directions of Swami, nearly 100 members entered into the temple, where auction was going on in the presence of MLA Anam Vivekananda Reddy, and stopped the auction for one hour. But, after some time police was in and dispersed the protesters with some force.
The irony is that Reddy is the chairman of A P Christian Properties Protection Legislative committee, who submitted a report on ’How to protect the Christian properties’ to the assembly, after going around the state. But he is not showing any interest to save or protect the Hindu temple lands as much as he is interested in the case of Christen church properties.
Three years back, nearly 14 land of Sri Venugopal Swami Tempe, in Nellore was sold away by the public auction for Rs 13 crores. Kaveri Balachandra Reddy, who purchased these lands did not paid even one third of that amount, nor even registered, but he plotted the lands and sold away for Rs 50 crores. It is alleged that all that happened with the political support from Vivekananda Reddy.
Meanwhile, American based Global Hindu Heritage Foundation and Hindu Devalaya Parirakshana Samithi have taken up the task asking the Hindus world wide to register their protests with chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy through e-mails.
