Jagan Mohan Reddy, the charismatic leader from Andhra Pradesh who wiped Congress out from the state, has met Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last few days. The meeting has, once again, created the buzz that Jagan led YSRCP might join BJP led NDA in the central government. In the 40 minute meeting with PM Modi, Jagan was accompanied by YSRCP parliamentary party leader V Vijay Sai Reddy and another MP P Mithun Reddy.
As per the reports, Jagan is willing to cooperate with the Modi government, as he has already done on many crucial bills such as CAA, the abolition of Article 370, farm bills and so on. In return, Jagan wants Modi government’s help and cooperation on decentralisation of the power in the state and ‘special state’ status.
“Apart from the promises made to the state as per the AP Reorganization Act, including funds due to the state to offset the revenue deficit, the chief minister took up several other issues with the Prime Minister. The meeting took place in a completely cordial atmosphere and the response from the PM was quite encouraging,” said an official from the Chief Minister’s office, as per a report by Hindustan Times.
The entry of YSRCP in BJP led NDA could prove beneficial for pushing reforms through both houses as the party has 21 seats in Lok Sabha and 6 seats in Rajya Sabha. Given the fact, BJP has a minority in Rajya Sabha, the support of YSRCP would help to pass crucial bills such as Electricity Amendment bill, Uniform Civil Code, and many others.
However, YSRCP must shed its anti-Hindu agenda and stop prompting Christianisation of Andhra Pradesh to ally BJP led NDA. Hindutva agenda in the core ideology of the saffron party and allying with a party which promotes conversion would harm BJP and, therefore, the prerequisite for the alliance is YSRCP toning down its anti-Hindu agenda.
Ever since he assumed office, Jagan has taken a series of fundamentally biased decisions that favour Christians and their brazen conversion drives in the state. His government decided to hike financial aid to Jerusalem and Hajj pilgrims by twenty thousand, for those whose annual income was below 3 lakh rupees, and ten thousand, for those whose annual income exceeded 3 lakh.
Further, Christian pastors will now be provided with a five thousand rupees monthly honorarium, even as his government shamelessly allowed their puppets in TTD to propose a sale of the temple’s lands and properties. Imams will be provided with a monthly honorarium of rupees ten thousand. Meanwhile, rampant, and some even say, state-sponsored conversion drives are working overtime in Andhra Pradesh, with the blessings of Jagan Mohan Reddy.
A few months ago, the Andhra government-issued tickets to travellers from Tirupati to the temple town of Tirumala with advertisements of Haj and Jerusalem pilgrimage on the back. While the Jagan government has worked overtime for the benefits of Christians and Muslims, the other lesser mortals are yet to see the YSRCP government have mercy upon them and fulfil promises made to them without asking them to convert.
Freebies being doled out by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government encouraged conversion to Christianity, the Sunday Guardian had reported. YSRCP MP, Ramkrishna Raju had recently confessed on Times Now that conversion drives were taking place in a “big way” in Andhra Pradesh.
Therefore, in Andhra Pradesh, it is seen that a government is accused of institutionally supporting conversions, even as the rest of the state continues to languish under a slew of issues that they face.
The blatant anti-Hindu and minority appeasement agenda of the Jagan government is set to become a roadblock for its alliance with BJP, given the fact, the saffron party would not irk its core voter base for the sake of the alliance. Therefore, if Jagan wants to come into NDA fold, he must stop institutional discrimination against the Hindus of Andhra Pradesh.
