Who Is Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, The YSRCP MP Who Compared Andhra CM Jagan Reddy With Mahmud Of Ghazni?

Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, a member of Parliament (MP) from Narsapuram, belonging to the ruling Yuva Jana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), recently quit the party.

He is the fourth Lok Sabha MP, after Sanjeev Kumar, Vallabhaneni Balashowry and Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayulu, to leave the party after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy’s decision to appoint in-charges for each constituency.

While Raju's decision to quit the party did not come as a surprise to Andhra watchers, given he has been constantly criticising Jagan Reddy, what caught the eye of many was his comparison of Jagan Reddy to Mahmud of Ghazni, stating that Jagan Reddy had repeatedly failed to get his Parliament membership cancelled for speaking up against him.

Earlier this month, the party announced Guduri Uma Bala as its candidate from the seat for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Series Of Run-Ins With Jagan Reddy

Raju has criticised Jagan Reddy on a number of issues like corruption in welfare schemes run by the YSRCP government and the idea of changing all government schools to English medium.

The YSRCP wrote to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, to disqualify him as he was not toeing the line of the party.

He also approached the special CBI court in Hyderabad seeking the cancellation of Jagan Reddy’s bail saying that he had violated the bail conditions and could influence witnesses.

In May 2021, he was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh CID on charges of sedition and hate speech. Raju alleged that he was tortured in police custody and was granted bail by the Supreme Court after a medical examination.

Criticism Of Conversions To Christianity

Amongst all of this, what has stood out is his criticism of Jagan Reddy over conversions to Christianity.

In 2020, he had stated that large scale conversions were happening in Andhra due to the money power of missionaries.

He has alleged that conversion was being encouraged by promising jobs and quotas and questioned the government’s move to give money to pastors.

Further, he had stated that the Christian population, mentioned in the 2011 Census as 1.8 per cent, had risen to 25 per cent and there are 33,000 churches (almost equal to the number of Hindu temples).

He said that lot of converts were not declaring their conversion in order to not lose out on government benefits like reservations.

Speaking about the condition of Hindus and Hindu temples in the state, during a speech in Parliament, Raju said, "In Andhra Pradesh, as of now, constructive destruction is happening with regard to the Hindu temples. So, let there be a commission, a dharmic commission or a Hindu commission, in line with Christian minorities or Muslim minorities to address the issue."

He added that though Hindus were a majority, they were being treated like a minority and only a 'karma yogi' like Prime Minister Narendra Modi could resolve the matter.

Raju also took on the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam for reportedly waiving off the requirement for non-Hindus to sign a declaration stating they have faith in Lord Venkateswara, for the sake of Chief Minister Jagan Reddy, who is a Christian.

While Raju has expressed his interest to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the same constituency as a candidate of the Telugu Desam Part-Jana Sena alliance, it is not known if he would get the ticket.

His relentless criticism of Jagan Reddy and plainspeak on the topic of conversions could also make him useful for the Bharatiya Janata Party, in case he chooses to join it.