It has been nearly two and a half months since veteran leader Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju assumed charge as the Governor of Goa.
Before taking office, he resigned from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), as the Governor’s post is expected to remain apolitical.
However, it appears that Raju has yet to shed his political instincts. Whenever he visits Andhra Pradesh, he behaves like a typical TDP leader, often lashing out at the opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and its president, former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
On Saturday, Raju — who also serves as the hereditary trustee of the Pydithalli Ammavari Temple — launched a scathing attack on the previous YSRCP government, accusing it of completely neglecting temple development across Andhra Pradesh.
The Goa Governor alleged that during the YSRCP regime, temple administration officials spent their time “licking the boots of ministers” instead of serving devotees.
He claimed that several prominent temples in the state were ignored and that there was no discussion or progress on temple development throughout the five-year tenure of the YSRCP.
“The entire system was left to rot,” he remarked, directly targeting former Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas, and asserting that “he did not contribute even a single rupee’s worth of work toward temple development.”
Raju also advised temple authorities against acting in a high-handed manner.
“Officials must serve devotees, not dominate them. They should ensure that temple trust board activities are carried out in a transparent manner,” he emphasized.
Speaking about leadership, Raju stated: “A true leader is one who follows his own faith while respecting all others equally. Only when all religions are treated with equal respect can one be called a real leader.”
