Hours before he was set to visit Tirumala Temple, Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday, September 27, cancelled the trip. The Telugu Desam Party asked him, a practising Christian, to sign a declaration form declaring his faith in Lord Venkateswara before entering the temple.
Alleging that there is devil's rule in the state, Jagan Mohan Reddy said he was being stopped from visiting the temple. He said police have issued notices to YSRCP leaders and cadres stating that there is no permission for his visit to Tirumala temple and warned them against participating in the programme.
The former chief minister alleged that BJP functionaries from adjoining states were being called to Tirupati to stop him. "I don't know if the BJP's central leadership knows this," he said. Jagan Mohan Reddy mentioned that thousands of policemen were deployed in Tirupati.
He appealed to YSRCP cadres and people to pray at temples in their respective constituencies and villages that "god's wrath for desecrating Tirumala temple be confined to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and that the state is saved from this".
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) made it mandatory in July 2012 for those belonging to faiths other than Hinduism to sign this declaration form. The then TTD Joint Executive Officer (JEO) KS Srinivsasa Raju stated that as per GO MS No 311 of the state revenue endowments- 1, Rule no. 16, non-Hindus must sign this declaration. The TDP had alleged that Jagan did not abide by this practice while he was the Chief Minister between 2019-2024.
Jagan alleged that since CM Naidu "lied" about the use of ghee adulterated with animal fat for laddu 'prasadam', he was trying to "divert" the issue by raking up the issue of declaration. He reiterated that the Chief Minister levelled allegations of adulterated ghee in 'prasadam' to divert public attention from "failure" to deliver on poll promises in 100 days of his government.
The YSRCP chief said CM Naidu "tarnished" the sanctity of Sri Venkateswara temple and "hurt" the sentiments of devotees by making false allegations that ghee used for making laddus had animal fat in it.
Reiterating that Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) has a foolproof system to check adulteration through three levels of quality tests, Jagan said There were many instances of TTD sending back ghee tankers that failed the tests.
Jagan said the four tankers that failed the tests had reached TTD on July 6 and 12 when the Naidu government had already assumed office. He said that earlier the TTD was sending samples to a lab in Mysuru for verification in the past, but for the first time the samples from these four tankers were sent to NNDB in Gujarat.
Citing the statements of TTD Executive Officer Syamala Rao, appointed by CM Naidu, that ghee from these four tankers was sent back, Jagan said despite knowing the facts, CM Naidu spread the "lie" that adulterated ghee was used for making laddus and devotees consumed it.
Jagan said CM Naidu deliberately spread "falsehood" for politics, desecrating Tirumala temple and hurting the sentiments of millions of devotees. The YSRCP chief said since CM Naidu's "lies" were getting "exposed", he "diverted" the topic and raised the issue of declaration of faith.
He recalled that his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who was chief minister for five years, participated in Brahmotsavam and offered sacred clothes to Lord Venkateswara.
Jagan said he visited Tirumala temple many times before becoming the chief minister and recalled that he walked up to the hill shrine after completing his state-wide padayatra. "After I became the chief minister, TTD invited me every year to give clothes to Lord Venkateswara Swamy," he said.
(with inputs from IANS)