Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was on Monday exalted to the status of Jesus Christ, after P. Gannavaram MLA Kondeti Chittibabu said that Reddy is a saviour for humanity, just like Jesus Christ, whom Christians consider to be the son of God.
The comparison was made during a public meeting held at P. Gannavaram in the Konaseema area of East Godavari for the launch of the second phase of Mana Badi Nadu-Nedu and distribution of the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka programme at Zilla Parishad High School at the hands of chief minister Jagan Reddy.
Lavishing praises on Reddy, the MLA said the chief minister was busy implementing welfare schemes and effected revolutionary changes in the education system at a time when the state was going through a difficult period of COVID-19 pandemic. These schemes, the MLA said, proved to be a boon for the downtrodden sections of society.
“When I was a student, I could not get the basic amenities in the schools. I, like others of my generation, suffered hardships in the school,” a report published on Deccan Chronicle quoted the MLA as saying. Chittibabu also added that no other chief minister has taken such steps to improve the quality of education for the underprivileged sections of society.
Talking about the housing scheme launched by Reddy on Christmas last year, Chittibabu said many upper caste people in poverty appreciated the state government’s efforts as they would now be owners of their house. “The people view Jagan as another Jesus Christ, a saviour of humanity,” he said.
The MLA also asserted that the chief minister has agreed to his request and promised him to build a bridge at Thogarapaya in Ayinavilli Mandal and a Lift Irrigation Scheme at Appanapalli.
Rampant conversions to Christianity continues unabated in Andhra Pradesh
While the party MLA went into raptures about CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and compared him to Jesus Christ, the Andhra Pradesh government has long been accused of enabling and facilitating rampant conversions of residents into Christianity. Last year, a damning report published in the Sunday Guardian held that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh was anti-Hindu and provided freebies to people to convert to Christianity. Experts raised their concerns regarding the spree of freebies doled out to the Christian communities by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government. The freebies were not only causing a loss of public money but these appeasement schemes are also aimed at encouraging ordinary Andhra citizens to convert, reported Sunday Guardian.
According to the report, the rampant conversion drives in Andhra Pradesh had become a serious issue in the state, which may even take a violent turn if not stopped. The opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh right-wing activists have been accusing YS Jagan Reddy, a Christian that ever since he became the Chief Minister of Andhra, he has spent a huge amount on the Christian community services, with an eye on encouraging conversion activities.
Recently, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh seeking a report regarding the action taken against the forceful conversions targeting the Scheduled Caste (SC) community in the state.
In January 2020, the Hindu legal-activist group – Legal Rights Protection Forum and SC-ST Rights Forum, a non-profit legal activism organisation that works for Dalit rights, had written a letter to National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) over rampant forced conversions activities by the Christian missionaries and Church.
