BJP's Sunil Deodhar calls for YSRCP Tirupati by-poll candidate's religion to be revealed

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Andhra Pradesh co-incharge Sunil Deodhar on Thursday said that the YSR Congress Party candidate for Tirupati Lok Sabha by-poll Dr M Gurumoorthy's religion should be revealed to the public.

"There are reports that Gurumoorthy is a Christian and if that is true, he is ineligible to contest from a Scheduled Caste (SC)-reserved constituency," Deodhar said.

He also accused Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy of cheating both the SCs and Christians by giving SC-reserved seats to a converted Christian.

Deodhar recalled that Gurumoorthy has recently taken the blessings of Bishops and Pastors but he did not seek the blessings of Lord Balaji. He also added that Dr BR Ambedkar did not provide SC reservation for converted Christians or Muslims.

The BJP leader asked voters of the constituency to think about voting for a person who does not seek Lord Balaji's blessings.

Slamming YSRCP leaders who called his wearing Govinda Namam (tilak on forehead) as 'drama', the BJP leader asked if Chief Minister Reddy was doing drama when he wore tilak during elections.

"Why did Jagan not give Tirupati MP ticket to the deceased MP's son," Deodhar further said.

The AP BJP co-incharge also alleged that village volunteers are campaigning for YSRCP which was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

"They distributed pamphlets of Gurumoorthy having Lord Balaji's picture which is also a violation of the MCC. We have appealed to the Election Commission to disqualify Gurumoorthy's candidature," Deodhar said.

The by-poll for the Tirupati Lok Sabha seat will be held on April 17.

( With inputs from ANI )