Telangana's political battle over alleged 'kshudra pujas' has escalated, with Congress and BRS leaders trading accusations and former minister T Harish Rao sending a legal notice to the ruling party leaders over what he calls a smear campaign.
TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, Congress leaders Sama Ramamohan Reddy and Addanki Dayakar have accused Harish Rao of visiting religious centres and allegedly performing tantric or 'kshudra pujas' with the intention of bringing drought to Telangana and causing political damage to the Congress government.
Rammohan Reddy, in a press conference, alleged that Harish Rao was acting with an "evil intent" to see the State suffer because the BRS was out of power. He claimed Rao had visited Tiruchirappalli and Shivamogga on several occasions for alleged tantric rituals, asking: "For what purpose did you do all this? A direct question!"
Rao rejected the allegations and issued legal notices to Goud, Reddy, and Dayakar.
His lawyer demanded unconditional public apologies and withdrawal of the statements, warning that failure to comply could lead to civil and criminal defamation proceedings.
Party MLC leader Dasoju Sravan, while defending Harish Rao's temple visits, accused the Congress government of deliberately portraying traditional Hindu religious practices as 'kshudra pujas'. Sravan questioned the Congress over religious visits and rituals undertaken by leaders from its own ranks.
"Politics is a persuasive debate on policies," Sravan said, arguing that political discourse should focus on governance rather than religious practices.
The exchange has now moved from political allegations to legal notices, with Rao seeking apologies and warning of civil and criminal defamation proceedings.
