RSS says Reddy ''inventing appeasement populism''

New Delhi, Feb 16 (UNI) Taking a swipe at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for proposing to subsidise Christian travels to their holy land Jerusalem on the lines of Haj subsidy to Muslims, the RSS today said if there was a national award for ''inventing appeasement populism'', Dr Reddy would be the first claimant.

The RSS mouthpiece 'The Organiser' in its editorial said it was Dr Reddy who had kickstarted UPA Muslim quota business in 2004 and was now trying to extend it to an educationally and economically advance community like Christians that too without any demand from the community.

The move was against the Constitution which did not allow discrimination in the name of religion, caste and region, the paper said.

The Haj subsidy had now reached Rs 4,000 crore annually and it was high time that the UPA put an end to such ''cynical acts'' for temporary political mileage, the paper noted.

Dr Reddy, like his Congress chief, was a Christian and most church denominations, taking up rigorous Indianisation plank, had even succeeded in their attempt. But this secularisation was sought to be torpaedoed by certain zealous evangelical elements and the Andhra Pradesh CM seems to be encouraging them, it added.

The Christians, unlike Muslims, were a contented community and had no dearth of foreign funding for eccalesistical training.

For studies Christians went to Vatican with their own money. It is no pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which is a 'virtual war zone' and the community had no tradition of visiting the 'holy land'. There were many holy places in India itself and it was not clear if Dr Reddy had plans to subsidise these domestic packages also, the paper wondered.

The paper said for the past four years, there had been reports of aggressive proselytising mission in Andhra Pradesh which had created tension in some areas especially in Tirupati Tirumala areas where the protests from the Hindu groups had forced the government to issue notification prohibiting non-Hindus from violating the sanctity of holy hills.

The Government was accused of siphoning off the temple offerings for 'irreligious activities' and the case pertaining to sell off the temple lands for making revenue for the exchequer was pending in the High Court, it said.

The idea of Christian subsidy obviously had ulterior intention and would perhaps ignite a new wave of demand and protests, the paper added.

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