The YSR Congress party has landed in an embarrassing situation with the reports of printing of publicity campaign for Jerusalem visit for Christians on the RTC bus tickets being issued to Tirumala pilgrims.
The BJP tried to capitalize on the issue and made scathing attack on the YSRC government for deliberately allowing Christian missionary campaign in Hindu religious places like Tirumala.
The YSRC government immediately ordered an inquiry after the media highlighted the issue. But the way it has defended the whole thing is surprising.
Minister for Endowments Vellampalli Srinivas blamed it on the previous Telugu Desam Party government for the printing of religious material on the backside of the RTC bus tickets. He said the contract for printing the tickets was given by the previous dispensation.
A clarification from the RTC is also all the more surprising. It said the printing of various schemes introduced by the previous TDP government for minorities was done on backside of the ticket roles by the contractor, but the rolls were not distributed in March due to election code.
After the elections, the rolls were despatched to various depots and inadvertently, some rolls were sent to Tirupati depot as well.
“We have withdrawn the same immediately,” an RTC official said.
But the question here is that how the YSRC government can continue the publicity for the schemes introduced by the previous TDP regime.
The schemes had names like: NTR Vidyonnathi and Chandranna Pelli Kanuka etc. and they clearly explained what the TDP government had done for minorities in the last four years, including subsidy for Jerusalem tour.
“The RTC officials should have withdrawn these rolls immediately after YSRC headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power. For the last three months, the RTC has been propagating the TDP schemes, which have been scrapped, instead of Jagan schemes,” a senior journalist pointed out.
If RTC thinks it would be a waste of money, it should at least bring it to the notice of the Jagan government and seek its permission to continue the publicity of TDP schemes!