The deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan of the Jana Sena Party (JSP), was once an admirer of the Latin American Marxist hero and youth icon Che Guevara. He milked his Marxism till recently sporting a red and marching with the Communists. He has suddenly switched to a saffron .
He now marches to the tune of a , politicising a controversy around the adulteration of ghee at the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD). What ought to have been an issue of either sloppy supply management or deliberate corruption in the purchase of ghee has been turned into a politico-religious issue. Not to be left behind his scheming deputy, an apparently nervous N.
Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra chief minister, has jumped onto the communal bandwagon, blaming the “minorities friendly” Jagan Mohan Reddy, his predecessor in the CM’s office, for this insult to Hindu sentiment. If religious passions are stirred, can the BJP be left behind? BJP activists in both Telugu states are rushing to save Hinduism from Hindus. God is no longer to be relied upon in protecting Oneself and humans.
Humans, that too political power brokers, are required to protect Gods. For the first time in contemporary political history, religion has been brought into the caste-ridden state politics of the Andhras. The entire controversy revolves around a report that drew attention to the possibility of adulteration of ghee supplied to TTD.
This is not a new problem. In the past, if such adulteration of ghee with.
