Why is AP DGP mum on arrested ‘notorious pastor’?

Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy’s confessions on video have raised political temperatures in Andhra Pradesh. Moreover, he has been arrested after allegations came up that he had confessed to demolishing idols and desecrating temples in different parts of the State. He had got many men to organise these activities. He had also confessed to having converted 699 villages wholesale into following Christianity in AP.

Now, the TDP has seized this opportunity and posed questions to the DGP why he has not talked about this ‘notorious pastor’s case’ at all in his list of arrested persons who were accused of harming religious harmony. TDP Politburo Member Varla Ramaiah demanded the DGP to explain to the people why he deliberately omitted the name of pastor Praveen in the list of 15 persons who were arrested in the cases booked in the wake of temple descrations.

The TDP leader wondered how the DGP remained silent on pastor Praveen though he was arrested for making ‘extremely provocative statements that would harm religious harmony.’ Video evidence was available how the pastor had claimed to have himself desecrated and demolished the temple idols and how he had men doing it all over the State. Praveen also claimed to have converted over 699 villages wholesale to his religion. All this evidence was available but the DGP chose to ignore this while overstating petty social media cases only to defame the TDP.

Mr. Ramaiah further said that the pastor was once an active member of Bro Anil Kumar’s team. There were also allegations of his involvement with one political party during the elections. Praveen was seen in photos taken with a YCP woman MP and he hails from Kakinada basically. The DGP should have dug up all these details if he was really worried about the religious harmony in Andhra Pradesh.