Visakhapatnam: A temple in Ramatheertham Hill near Nellimarla in Vizianagaram was district was vandalised by some unknown persons leading to angry protests by several groups.
Activists belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Jana Sena headed by Pawan Kalyan slammed the government over the attack on the temple.
The temple belonging to Lord Ram was reportedly vandalised on Sunday night. Police sources said they had launched search to track down the culprits.
The TDP, BJP and Jana Sena have organised rallies separately to protest against the incident coinciding with the visit of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to Vizianagaram to launch a housing programme for the poor.
Velampalli Srinivas, the Endowment Minister, described the attack on the temple as unfortunate and said the government would mete out stringent punishment to those involved in the crime.
N. Chandrababu Naidu, leader of the of Opposition and Telugu Desam president, condemned the demolition of Ramatheertham Srirama idol and accused the the government of complacency towards attacks on temples.
The former chief minister said that the demolition of idols were on the increase because of the casual attitude of the YSR Congress Party Government.
“For reasons not known, the Chief Minister was just watching the attacks on temples like a silent spectator. In the last 19 months, over 120 attacks have taken place on temples,” he alleged.