Jagan Mohan Reddy cancels Tirupati visit amid demand for declaration of faith

Amaravati, Sep 27 : Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy cancelled his visit to Tirumala temple in view of the growing tension following threats by some groups to disrupt his visit if he fails to give a declaration of his faith before entering the famous hill shrine.

YSR Congress Party president cancelled his visit, hours before he was to leave for Tirupati for darshan on Saturday.

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 confine to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and that state is saved from this".

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 from suspected adulterated to a lab in Mysuru for crosschecking in the past, for the first time the samples from these four tankers were sent to NNDB, 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 Y. S. 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.