The statement issued by Director General of Police Gautam Sawang on Friday night that as many as 17 persons affiliated to Telugu Desam Party and four to the Bharatiya Janata Party were the conspirators behind the alleged attacks on temples in the state kicked up a major political controversy.
The DGP said 15 of them have been arrested so far and hunt for the rest was still on.
“Certain people belonging to certaing political factions with vested interests are intentional resorting to such propaganda to drive their agenda home,” he said.
Expectedly, the TDP attacked Sawang for deliberately omitting the name of 'notorious pastor' Praveen Chakravarthy in the list of 15 persons who were arrested in the cases booked in the wake of temple desecrations.
TDP politburo member Varla Ramaiah said though the DGP did not utter a word against the pastor, those who posted or forwarding messages in the social media were wrongfully projected as perpetrators of attacks on temples and idols.
Bharatiya Janata Party state president Somu Veerraju wrote a strongly worded letter to the DGP for stating that the BJP activists were involved in the attacks on Hindu temples in the state.
“Being in a responsible position, how can you issue confusing statements and create false impression in the minds of the public?” he asked.
He said postings in the social media were different from the attacks on the idols.
“Whereas state police under your leadership have utterly failed in protecting the temples and the idols, but intentionally, deliberately and carelessly issuing the statements defaming and damaging the reputation of our party,” Veerraju said.
He threatened to proceed to take appropriate for the DGP’s prosecution under criminal law and also filing a suit for defamation and damages, if the police chief did not withdraw his statement.