Machilipatnam (AP): Christians should team up with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to make use of their churches as platforms to help eliminate poverty in Andhra Pradesh, party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said.
He made these remarks at a meeting on Friday night addressing pastors in Gudivada town of Krishna district, where he observed that the Christian community is no exception to alleged harassment by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
"Jagan has discontinued all the welfare schemes introduced by the TDP government for Christians," he said in a statement.
The former chief minister alleged that many Christians are being compelled to surrender their properties and organisations while the 'Christian Bhavan' that he had built during his tenure was turned into a quarantine centre during the Covid pandemic.
Meanwhile, the pastors who attended the meeting called for the TDP supremo's support and reiterated that Dalit Christians should be accorded Scheduled Caste (SC) status, including highlighting that the community is being persecuted under the name of religious conversion.
Responding to their pleas, Naidu said: "As a leader, I have come here to have first-hand information on the problems and issues that you are facing besides knowing your perspective. TDP always discusses the issues with different sections of people and accepts your suggestions and advice. The party will certainly take into consideration these suggestions."
Elections are due in Andhra Pradesh in 2024. The polls are likely to be held along with the Lok Sabha election next year.
With inputs from agencies