India, Dec. 28 -- New Delhi: The spree of freebies doled out by the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government is not only causing a loss of public money, but the schemes are allegedly aimed at encouraging ordinary Andhra citizens to convert. The alleged "conversion drive" in Andhra Pradesh has become a serious issue and, if not prevented, may soon take a violent turn, say experts.

The Opposition in Andhra and right-wing activists have been alleging that ever since Jagan Mohan Reddy has become the Chief Minister of Andhra, he has opened the treasury of the state to the Christian community, with an eye on encouraging conversion activities. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his family are Christians.

Last month, the Jagan government hiked t...