Telangana temple desecration not isolated incident, say BJP MPs, demand NIA probe

The BJP MPs expressed their concerns about a month-long religious gathering that took place under the guise of personality development workshops, without the necessary permissions from the authorities.

Hyderabad: The violence that occurred during the protest rally by Hindu outfits in Secunderabad last Saturday is becoming a major issue in Telangana, a state under the Congress rule. On Monday, BJP MPs from the state met state governor Jishnu Dev Verma and demanded an NIA probe into the latest incidents of communal activities in the state.

They demanded that the individuals responsible for the desecration of a temple in Secunderabad last Monday be held accountable. They expressed their concerns about a month-long religious gathering that took place under the guise of personality development workshops, without the necessary permissions from the authorities.

One of the participants in the workshop had desecrated the Muthyalamma temple in Kummarivadi, Secunderabad. The police also filed five cases pertaining to the violence on Saturday, which resulted in injuries to approximately 15 cops.

The All India Milli Council of Telangana unit said the recent desecration of the Muthyalamma Temple in Secunderabad is deeply troubling. The All India Milli Council, a common and united platform of Indian Muslims, has urged the police to take swift and decisive action to bring the accused to justice.

“The CCTV footage from the scene of the offence categorically points to a young person kicking the main gate of the temple to gain entry into the temple. The footage shows the person in question, after entering the temple, kicking the idol of the goddess Mutyalamma, who is revered by the people as the Goddess Durga. This is blasphemous. Alerted by the loud noise, local people woke up and chased the culprits. They managed to apprehend one and hand over the individual to the police. However, the entire episode points to the failure of the city police. It came to know later that in a hotel near the temple that has been desecrated, hundreds of people belonging to a certain religion have been undergoing training to desecrate the Hindu temples across the state of Telangana,” said Malkajgiri MP, Etela Rajender.

He added that explicitly, it is being shown as training for spoken English and personality development, but it has been an indoctrination camp that almost borders a terror camp.

So far over 15 batches of the people from the religion in question have already obtained such training and are out for action, but our police have no clue. The person who has been apprehended after the vandalization of the temple also comes from the state of Maharashtra, reportedly from the city of Pune, the BJP MPs said.

The MPs also said that ever since the anointing of the Congress government in December 2023, these 'communal fanatics' have been feeling emboldened. Otherwise, how does one explain targeted training for the desecration of the temples for hundreds of youths who come from different parts of the country to undergo such divisive training?, they asked.

“The Incident of the desecration of the Mutyalamma temple is not an isolated incident but part of a systematic plan that has been going on unabated for several years now in the state of Telangana. In the past several Hindu temples had been desecrated. Whenever such incidents of brazen blasphemy happened, the police and the government promised strict action against the culprits and restoration of the temples. But after that, no one bothers,” said Medak MP K Raghunandan Rao.

Given the interstate ramifications of the present case including but not limited to the aspect of mobilisation of certain communities against the other, the BJP MPs urged the governor to instruct the DGP Telangana to handover the case to the NIA, which is meant to investigate the anti national and religious terror issues. Also to call for a detailed report on the incident of the desecration of the temple.