Hyderabad: A delegation of State BJP leaders on Tuesday called on two Telugu States’ Governor ESL Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan and pleaded with him to initiate appropriate steps to curb gross irregularities being committed in the world famous Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, State BJP president Dr K Laxman said Tirumala was the most pious place of worship for Hindus all over the world and such a place of reverence and deep-rooted faith, has now become a source to mint money by fraudulent people, middlemen and brokers. Some officials working in the Andhra Pradesh CMO were colluded with the staff in the JEO office in Tirumala were resorting to corrupt practices with the help of brokers. They were allegedly selling various darshan tickets outside for huge money against the rules and dharma.
On September 27, 2018 at around 7.30 am , the TTD authorities headed by JEO, Additional Vigilance & Security Officer and other TTD Vigilance officials conducted a scrutiny of L-1, L-2 and L-3 VIP Break Darshan tickets and identified the mediators and the persons who came with recommendation letters claimed they got them from Chief Minister’s Office, MLAs, MPs, Ministers and TTD Board Members by paying hefty price. The said darshan tickets were sold at prices ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 while VIP darshan ticket was Rs 500.
Surprisingly, even Lord’s Abhishekham tickets were sold at Rs 2 lakh. The mediators and brokers were misusing the VIP letters and in some cases the VIPs themselves were instigating the brokers as a source of income for themselves. Even though the TTD Vigilance Department had identified the brokers and persons involved in the racket prepared a report and sent to higher authorities. But the report did not see the light of the day due to pressure from the higher-ups in the departments and politicians.
The BJP leaders also said other darshan tickets were also being sold through the brokers, who have deep-rooted contacts with the TTD officials and politicians, with everyone getting their share of commission. This was totally spoiling the sanctity and faith of millions of devotees. They urged the Governor to see that the whole system was revamped and honest and god-fearing people appointed at crucial places. They urged Narasimhan to initiate stringent steps to curb malpractices at the very Feet of Lord Sri Venkateswara in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and uphold the sanctity and dharma.
The delegation of BJP leaders included former Union minister Bandaru Dattatraya, former MLA G Kishan Reddy, former DGP V Dinesh Reddy, Dasari Srinivas, IAS (Retd), Vijaya Babu, for commissioner, RTYI, Challapalli Narasimha Reddy, State Core Committee member, BJP Andhra Pradesh, S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, NYK National vice-president, AP and G Bhanu Prakash Reddy, former member, TTD Board, BJP AP State secretary.
[source_without_link]NSS[/source_without_link]