Telangana: Atheist makes ‘derogatory’ comment against Hindu God; huge protests outside Gnana Saraswati Temple
Atheist Renjarla Rajesh’s alleged derogatory comments against Hindu Goddess Saraswati has led to a huge uproar in the Basar town of Telangana’s Nirmal district.
Expressing their anger against Renjarla, protestors staged a sit-in on the road near the Gnana Saraswati Temple. Priests and temple workers also staged protests against the comments made against the Hindu Goddess.
Demanding arrest of Renjerla Rajesh, a leader of Bharatha Nasthika Sangham, villagers and traders also blocked a stretch of the Nizamabad-Bhainsa highway. The protest led to a traffic jam.
The protestors vociferously raised slogans demanding Rajesh’s arrest.
The bandh has also been supported by some Hindu organisations. Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed. The protestors demanded that Rajesh should be booked under Preventive Detention (PD) Act.
The temple sees a huge rush of pilgrims as people visit the place before the commencement of a child’s formal education. After the prayers, the devotees request the priest to make their children write their first letters on a slate.
State president of Atheist Society, Bairi Naresh and another functionary Dolu Hanumanthu were arrested last week for allegedly making derogatory comments against Hindu Gods, mainly Ayyappa Swamy.
Naresh was arrested after his comments had gone viral on social media.
The comments led to state-wide protests. The protestors had demanded immediate arrest of Naresh and stringent action against him.
Later, the Karimnagar Police arrested another man Bairi Agni Tej for posting an alleged derogatory post against Ayyappa Swamy on Facebook on December 30.
He was arrested for hurting the religious sentiments of Ayappa devotees.
The BJP and other Hindu organisations have been targeting the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) over atheists’ comments to spread the anti-Hindu sentiment among the people.
