The burning of 100-year-old chariot at Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Antarvedi in East Godavari district in September last has kicked up a big controversy not only in Andhra Pradesh, but also across the country.
The incident caused an embarrassing situation to the YSR Congress party government in Andhra Pradesh, with the Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party making it a big issue and drawing Jagan’s Christian faith into it.
No doubt, the police completely bungled in cracking the case, forcing Jagan to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, as demanded by the opposition parties.
But since then, nothing has been heard about the investigation into the incident.
On Friday, Jagan inaugurated the newly-built chariot of Antarvedi temple, on the occasion of Ratha Sapthami, to undo the damage caused to the party in the district.
He offered puja and aarti and even dragged the giant forty-feet chariot to begin its commissioning.
Jagan also had a darshan of the main deity and participated in the puja after which he was given veda aasirvachanam.
The new Chariot was built with a cost of Rs 1 crore after a fire gutted the previous one on September 5, following the instructions from the chief minister.
The new chariot with six wheels and seven tiers was made out of 1330 cubic feet of wood and is equipped with hydraulic brakes and has a protective shed with iron gates.
However, nobody is bothered to find out what has happened to the CBI investigation. Though the state government has handed over all the files pertaining to the probe to the CBI authorities in Delhi, nothing has moved forward.
The CBI authorities haven’t come to Antarvedi even once.
What matters to the devotees now is the new chariot for the temple. Who will bother about the investigation into the previous incident?
