Andhra BJP Falsely Claims ‘Cross Erected Over Hindu Shrine’

Local reporters confirmed to The Quint that both the religious structures are located on two separate hillocks.

Functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Andhra Pradesh claimed that Christians in Guntur district of the state have illegally constructed a cross at a Hillock which carried footprints of Hindu goddess Sita.

However, videos accessed by The Quint and accounts of local reporters clearly state that both the religious structures are located on two separate but adjacent hillocks in Guntur. Even the Andhra Pradesh police have called out the viral claim.

CLAIM

BJP National Convener and co-incharge of the party’s Andhra Pradesh unit, Sunil Deodhar, shared a set of three images on Twitter with a claim which reads: “See huge illegal Cross in Edlapadu, AP where once foot prints of #SitaMaa existed. Carving of Lord Narasimhama exists at back. In Guntur Dist Christian mafias have created havoc. @BJP4Andhra & @friendsofrss protested but administration tacitly supported (sic).”

Among others who shared the same claim are S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, the general secretary of BJP in Andhra Pradesh and RSS mouthpiece Organiser. Right wing portal Swarajya also published a report on the issue, attributing the information to the BJP and RSS.

WHAT WE FOUND

Responding to Deodhar’s tweet, Guntur rural district police uploaded a video claiming that the two structures in the viral images (Cross and the footprint) are on different hillocks.

Fact check : THEY ARE COMPLETELY 2 DIFFERENT HILLOCKS and there is absolutely NO encroachment of the hill where Narasimha Swami idol is there ..(check videos by our SHO)

Request to use Twitter to spread love, unity and peace..@APPOLICE100 @dgpapofficial @ysjagan pic.twitter.com/lc7HZpq6c5

— GUNTUR RURAL DISTRICT POLICE (@GntRuralPolice) March 2, 2021

This raised our suspicion and we reached out to local reporters from Guntur who confirmed to us that both the religious places of worship are located on two separate but adjacent hillocks and the temple with goddess Sita’s footprint is still very much intact.

AP State BJP leadership has claimed that this temple in Guntur was replaced with a cross. The two religious structures have come up on different hillocks, district collector says. Video accessed by @TheQuint pic.twitter.com/01wXIRWmTL

— Nikhila Henry (@NikhilaHenry) March 3, 2021

In another tweet, District Collector of Guntur rubbished the claim and said, “the hill with Sita Maata footprints is different from the hill which has the Cross (sic).”

As reported by the SP Rural Guntur and Sub Collector,the allegation that the Cross was erected where Sita Maata footprints and carvings of Lord Narsimha existed is not true.
The hill with Sita Maata footprints is different from the hill which has the Cross. https://t.co/JaGBvo2d6q

— District Collector, Guntur (@CollectorGuntr) March 2, 2021

We have also learnt that the District Collector has prohibited visits to both the sites owing to communal tension in the area. 

Further, speaking to news website The News Minute, Sub-Inspector of Edlapadu rubbished the viral claim.

“The hillock on which the cross was erected is around half a kilometre away from the hillock on which the idol of Narasimha Swamy is present. The hillock on which the cross was erected is known locally as the Rahadari Mata shrine,” the TNM report quoted him as saying.

Clearly, misleading claims about Christians in Andhra Pradesh capturing a Hindu shrine to build a cross over it were made by several functionaries of BJP without due verification.

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