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The Andhra Pradesh police have arrested seven YSRCP workers for allegedly ‘sacrificing’ a sheep in front of a poster of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on December 29. The workers allegedly slaughtered the sheep and then showered Jagan’s poster with its blood performing abhishekam as part of Jagan’s birthday celebrations in Chodavaram, Nallajerla mandal in East Godavari district.
According to reports, the accused were raising slogans of ‘Rappa Rappa’ and the poster said there will be a Gangamma Jatara if Jagan returns to power in 2029. These are references to the 2024 film Pushpa 2. In the film, the lead actor Allu Arjun warns his detractors that he will slaughter them like sheep at a temple festival.
YSRCP chief Jagan’s birthday was on December 21, and this is at least the second such incident that has come to light in the past week. On December 23, seven people were arrested over a similar incident in Bhanukota village, Kanaganipalli mandal of Sri Sathya Sai district. Police said they were taking measures to ensure this doesn’t become a trend.
The Rappa Rappa dialogue became a political flashpoint in Andhra Pradesh earlier this year when a YSRCP worker Ravi Teja was arrested for holding a placard saying, ‘As soon as Jagan returns to power in 2029, just like animals slaughtered at Gangamma Thalli Jatara, we will slaughter everyone rappa rappa.’
While TDP had alleged that the use of the dialogue by YSRCP workers promoted political violence, Jagan had downplayed it. He said, “Is it wrong to quote a movie dialogue on a poster? Are we even in a democracy?”
Following the recent Nallajerla incident, CM Chandrababu Naidu alleged that political violence by YSRCP workers is on the rise. “By performing animal sacrifice and pouring blood on the poster, they want to create fear in society,” he said.
Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha played videos of the violent celebrations and said that it had become common for YSRCP workers to make threats of violence, slaughter animals, and use dangerous weapons to cut cakes as part of their celebrations.
Speaking about the previous incident in Kanaganipalli on December 21, Dharmavaram Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) had said that Bhanukota, where the incident happened, was a village prone to factional violence.
“They slaughtered a sheep near a government school around 9 am, and did a raktabhishekam (anointed the poster with blood). This is a sensitive area. The video went viral and if this becomes a trend, it'll keep recurring on political leaders’ birthdays, New Year’s Day, etc."