Politics in Andhra Pradesh is taking a divine turn, with leaders from the incumbent Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) challenging each other to prove their integrity in the presence of the Gods.
Following an integrity proving swearing-in challenge before Lord Vinayaka in a Bikkavolu temple in east Godavari district between a ruling YSRCP MLA and an opposition TDP leader, the temple politics have now reached Visakhapatnam as well.
Recently YSRCP MLA, Sathi Suryanarayana Reddy, and opposition TDP leader Nallamilli Rama Krishna Reddy swore before God in Bikkavolu Vinayaka temple, along with their wives, that each of them was honest and did not indulge in corruption.
Though both of them swore an oath, Suryanarayana Reddy claimed that Krishna Reddy did not take the oath properly.
In a similar fashion, the ruling YSRCP MLA Gudivada Amarnath and TDP leader Velagapudi Ramakrishna also challenged each other.
Recently, the state government got back 225 sq. ft of land from Rama Krishna with the TDP leader claiming that he did not encroach on any land and the ruling YSRCP government was resorting to vengeful tactics against him.
Rama Krishna said he is ready to swear in Visakhapatnam East Colony's Sai Baba temple that he was innocent but failed to turn up for the oath, prompting YSRCP's Amarnath and other leaders from his party to politically attack him.
"Rama Krishna claimed that he will resign if it is proved that even a square foot of land was encroached upon by him but whose land of 225 sq. ft was recovered in Rushikonda," mocked Rajya Sabha member and senior YSRCP leader V. Vijaysai Reddy.
Rama Krishna Reddy alleged that Ramakrishna spoke about oaths to the media houses biased towards the TDP but did not turn up for the oath challenge.
The YSRCP leaders alleged that Rama Krishna grabbed the plot during the TDP regime.
The Andhra Pradesh government has launched a land recovery drive, starting with Gitam University and extending to several opposition leaders in the city.
Recently, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched a comprehensive land resurvey project after 100 years, which is aimed at updating the southern state's land records, which could lead to the recovery of several encroached parcels of land.
