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Telangana Congress Chief Revanth Reddy on Friday asked Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to remove his spiritual guru Chinna Jeeyar from the role of agama shastra advisor to the Yadadri temple, for his objectionable remarks against tribal deities.
A statement made by him that allegedly denigrates goddesses Sammakka and Sarakka had triggered outrage from Bahujan and Adivasi groups in the state. Revanth, who is also the MP of Malkajgiri constituency, through Twitter, urged the Chief Minister to take legal action against Chinna Jeeyar for hurting the sentiments of devotees.
Chinna Jeeyar had renamed the famous Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Yadagirigutta as Yadadri. In an old video, which has now gone viral, Chinna Jeeyar is seen questioning the origin and relevance of Sammakka and Sarakka as they did not descend from heaven unlike other gods of the Hindu pantheon.
తెలంగాణ పౌరుషం, సంస్కృతికి ప్రతీకలైన “సమ్మక్క సారలమ్మ”లను అవమానపరిచిన త్రిదండి చినజీయర్ని యాదగిరిగుట్ట ఆగమశాస్త్ర సలహాదారుడి బాధ్యతల నుండి తక్షణమే కేసీఆర్ తొలగించి...మన భక్తి విశ్వాసాలపై దాడి చేసినందుకు చట్టపరమైన చర్యలు తీసుకోవాలి.@TelanganaCMO pic.twitter.com/xCqh4jRyE5
— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) March 18, 2022
In the video Chinna Jeeyar is heard saying: “Actually, who are Sarakka and Sammakka? Are they gods who descended from Brahma Lokam (heaven)? What is their history? They are merely forest and village deities. Let the people who live there worship them. But now, educated people and big industrialists are worshipping them. They have even named banks after them. This has become a business.”
Strongly objecting to his remarks, Mulugu legislator, Danasari Anasuya, popularly known as Seethakka, who belongs to the Adivasi community, had demanded an unconditional apology from Chinna Jeeyar. She also wanted the Chief Minister to respond to this issue and clarify the government’s stance.
Anasuya wanted Chinna Jeeyar to answer why he made such objectionable and arrogant remarks against Sammakka and Sarakka, who symbolise the statehood struggle of Telangana. She demanded that the Swamy issue an unconditional apology to the people of Telangana and the Adivasi community. “You should take back your words, which have hurt the sentiments of Adivasis. Our deities are gods of nature. We worship trees and mounds,” she said.
The legislator also said that in the name of the Statue of Ramanujacharya (Statue of Equality), Chinna Jeeyar had been collecting fees from visitors. “There is no fee to enter the temple of Sammakka and Sarakka,” she said.
Bahujan Samaj Party’s Telangana state coordinator RS Praveen Kumar had also condemned Jeeyar’s views. Sharing the controversial video, Praveen Kumar tweeted: “Chinna Jeeyar, you have been crossing the line. Did Ramanujacharya teach you to speak in such a derogatory manner? You have been constantly making disparaging remarks against Bahujan-Adivasi gods and food habits.”
Praveen Kumar was referring to an old speech of Jeeyar, in which he had ridiculed people who eat meat. Jeeyar had said that people who eat pork would think like pigs, and people who eat mutton would follow the herd.
The Sammakka-Sarakka temple is situated in Medaram. Annually, the Sammakka-Sarakka jatara, which is a four-day fair held in the month of February, attracts people from all over the country. The fair marks one of Asia’s largest congregations of Adivasis. The event is celebrated as Telangana’s state festival.