TIRUPATI: Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister sought for the enactment of a strong national Act to protect the Hindu Sanatana Dharma and all other faiths in a uniform manner and called upon the public to protect Sanatana Dharma, and at the same time, stand up to respect all other faiths in the country.
After offering prayers at Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala and participating in a ritual aimed at ‘ablution of the sin committed at the shrine’ in the backdrop of the ghee adulteration issue, he hopped on to his ‘Varahi’ campaign vehicle to reach Jyotirao Phule circle in Tirupati on Thursday to address the huge gathering.
Pawan Kalyan spoke on the spate of attacks on Sanatana Dharma and the uneasy silence maintained by the people even to the slanderous, inflammatory and demeaning comments made against the faith.
Taking a jibe at the politicians and celebrities for making a furore over attacks on other faiths and maintaining silence when Sanatana Dharma is at the receiving end, he dubbed it as ‘pseudo secularism’ and vowed to raise his voice, come what may, against such a biased approach.
“Attack on Sanatana Dharma has never been condemned. A wrong is always a wrong even if nobody condemns it. You want to be politically correct, but I want to speak out the truth”, he said, in a veiled reference to a section of politicians. He also reiterated “Secularism is not one-way, it is two-way. Give respect and take respect”.
Varahi DeclarationReading out the ‘Varahi declaration, Pawan Kalyan asked the Sanatanis (Hindus) to rise above regional, linguistic and other barriers to raise their voice against the attack on Sanatana Dharma, even while respecting other faiths.
The declaration also sought enactment of a strong national act to protect Sanatana Dharma, which responds in a uniform manner to attack on all faiths. He also wanted an exclusive certification to be brought in to ensure purity of ingredients meant to be used in all temples, which assumed significance in the wake of alleged use of adulterated ghee in Tirumala.
The deputy CM also wanted non cooperation to be adopted towards individuals and organisations that defame or spread hatred against Sanatana Dharma.
Pawan Kalyan also suggested the need for temples to evolve not only as spiritual hubs, but also as centres for promoting art and culture, education, economy, environmental conservation and public welfare.
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