The ongoing political confrontation between the ruling NDA and the YSR Congress around the alleged adulteration of the Tirupati laddu with animal fat took a new turn with the former chief minister and YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy cancelling his proposed visit to the temple town of Tirupati for Lord Balaji's darshan.
Jagan has called for worship at temples around the state to cleanse Chandrababu Naidu's 'sin' of 'false claims'. Now, he has cancelled his tour while exhorting his supporters and the people at large to go ahead with the proposed pooja at their nearest temples.
Addressing a press conference, Jagan claimed that he was served with a notice denying permission to enter the temple for a darshan. But Naidu has strongly refuted these claims and challenged him to show the notice to the media.
Naidu said that the only restriction that Jagan, being a non-Hindu, has to surpass is to sign a declaration that he has belief in Lord Venkateshwara. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhi Ram alleged that by declining to sign such a declaration, Jagan displayed his anti-Hindu sentiment and Hinduphobia. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson made a similar accusation.
'Anti-Hindu' and Other Communal Tirades
It is not just this particular episode of the laddu. For quite some time, Jagan's rivals have been trying to portray him as 'anti-Hindu' due to his professed Christian religious conviction, something he has never hidden.
Jagan was accused of not just being complacent, but complicit in the attacks on Hindu shrines when he was chief minister. Even YS Rajasekhara Reddy, his father and former chief minister in united Andhra Pradesh, was targeted by both the TDP and the BJP for allegedly harbouring anti-Hindu sentiment and tinkering with the management and practices at the Tirumala Temple, to the detriment of the Hindu faith.
But such a communal tirade did not work for several reasons. YS Rajasekhara Reddy was a popular leader due to his populist welfare schemes, which averted the possible negative impact of a politico-religious campaign against him. Even the TDP-BJP campaign on communal lines was not so virulent at that time due to the prevailing political climate in the country.
The Congress-led UPA was in power at both the Centre and the state. The movement for and against the bifurcation of the state was dominating the political agenda of those times. As regional identity politics was dominant, religious identity politics took the backseat.
Besides, YS Rajasekhara Reddy never displayed his non-Hindu faith. In fact, most people were not even aware of his religious beliefs until his cremation was performed as per Christian traditions. YSR, as he was fondly called by his admirers, always appeared to be a devoted Hindu.
Jagan's Ascent
Jagan's ascent, however, was a result of the sympathy wave generated by the untimely and tragic demise of a popular chief minister while in office, that too in a helicopter accident, cutting short an impressive political career. Riding on the sympathy wave, Jagan and his family members openly displayed their religious beliefs, oblivious of the possible political consequences of such actions.
Not that anyone should not publicly reveal one’s religious faith in political life, but it is bound to reflect in the political discourse, given communal polarisation now prevalent in the country.
Jagan’s mother, YS Vijayamma, campaigned during the elections carrying a copy of the Bible in her hands. Jagan’s brother-in-law, i.e., the current state Congress chief YS Sharmila’s husband 'Brother' Anil Kumar's religious activities often kicked off controversies even during YSR's regime. Jagan publicly celebrated Christmas with his family members at a church in his hometown Pulivendula.
Meanwhile, the national political climate also changed. Hindu majoritarian political mobilisation has become stronger, though it did not impact Andhra Pradesh too much, where linguistic identity dominates religious identity and the competitive welfare agenda dominates politico-religious mobilisation.
The Laddu Controversy
The laddu controversy comes at a time when Jagan has lost the polls and is passing through a phase of negative public sentiment. The TDP is now part of the BJP-led combine. The other partner, the Jana Sena, is led by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan who has transformed into a Hindutva icon of Andhra Pradesh, much to the surprise of even the original Hindutva protagonists.
Thus, the politico-religious context combined with the laddu row has added to the acrimony around Jagan’s personal religious faith.
In fact, Jagan did benefit politically from his religious beliefs being publicly exhibited. Andhra Pradesh has a distinct social landscape wherein the penetration of Christianity is very strong among Dalit masses due to British rule in this part of the Telugu land.
Many families may declare themselves to be scheduled castes but in official records, they profess Christianity. Jagan, given his faith, could effectively use this in his social engineering along with his populist welfare agenda.
Coming to the present turn of events, Jagan has cleverly called off his proposed visit to Tirupati which would have certainly raked up not just a huge controversy but also a law and order problem. His rivals could have portrayed such a scenario as an act of invasion by a person believing in another religion in the important Hindu temple town.
The NDA was preparing for a big showdown to resist Jagan’s visit. Even Naidu has acknowledged this, describing it as a natural response from devotees against the visit of a non-believer who has allegedly desecrated the sanctity of the temple. By calling off his visit, Jagan wants to avert an unprecedented political conflict right in the footsteps of the Seven Hills.
Jagan would have also faced resistance from the temple authorities due to the NDA dispensation ruling the state. The controversy around signing a declaration would have turned out to be a huge personal and political embarrassment to him irrespective of whether he signed it as a non-Hindu or not.
However, Jagan could have anticipated this when he announced his plans to visit Tirupati. But still, he has his own narrative around the course of events that have expectedly unfolded. Though he is not visiting the temple town, the YSR Congress cadres will perform the puja at various temples across the state, inviting a strong mockery from the NDA parties.
The possible political fallout of all this, that too when elections are far away, is for anyone to guess.
(Prof K Nageshwar is a senior political analyst, faculty member of Osmania University, and a former MLC. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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