Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State vice-president P. Vishnu Kumar Raju has appealed to the Andhra Pradesh government to declare holiday on January 22 in the view of the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya.
Addressing the media at the party office in Visakhapatnam on January 19, Mr. Raju said that six States had already declared a holiday to the educational institutions on that day, and it was unfortunate that the Andhra Pradesh government did not announce it yet.
More than 90% of the nine-crore population in Andhra Pradesh was Hindus as per the 2011 census, he added.
“In view of the inaugural event, Hindus from Andhra and various parts of the country will be performing special prayers in all the temples on that day. Many devotees are going to live-stream the inaugural,” he said.
He also said that this “is an occasion to celebrate and remember, especially for children and younger generations.”
The State Government should understand the sentiments of the Hindus and declare holiday, or at least consider giving a half-day holiday, Mr. Raju added.
The BJP leader also ridiculed the YSRCP leaders’ claims that their party would win all the 175 Assembly seats in the State, and questioned the basis on which they would achieve the feat.
He also said that the elections turned interesting with the appointment of Y.S. Sharmila, sister of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, as president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee. The move would dent the YSRCP vote share by about 10-15%, he said. “All those who joined the YSRCP are former Congress leaders or supporters,” he added.
