Jagan’s Tirumala temple visit creates storm

                                                                       

Tirumala: After disproportionate assets case, YSR Congress chief and Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who is a practicing Christian, has now landed in another controversy over his visit to Tirumala's Balaji Temple. Reports, Thursday, claimed that the young Kadapa MP paid a visit to the famous Balaji Temple on Wednesday without signing the formal declaration about his faith in God. As per the rules of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust, non-Hindus are required to sign a formal declaration about their faith in the God ahead of paying visit to the main deity- Lord Balaji. Jagan did not sign the declaration of faith despite been asked by the temple authorities to do so, reports added.Defending the Kadapa MP, his supporters claim that he had signed a declaration of faith during his prior visit to the temple in 2009, so it was not required of him to repeat the procedure again. However, his critics claim that a declaration is to be signed every time a non-Hindu enters the temple for the darshan of the diety. In support of their claim they claimed that other high-profile visitors' name who have completed the formalities and showed respect to the temple rules. The matter came to the fore after Jagan Reddy visited the temple along with his party's Tirupati candidate Bhumana Karunakara Reddy, who has in past served as the TTD chairperson, and 60 others. Owing to Jagan Reddy’s status as a MP, he was allotted a VIP slot and allowed to for the deity’s darshan along with all his supporters. Reacting to the matter, TTD Executive Officer LV Subramanyam told reporters that an inquiry has been ordered and it is being ascertained whether it is necessary to sign the declaration every time a person visits the temple. from zee news

YSR broke rules: TD

                                                                                   
Supporters of Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu said Jagan entering Tirumala by violating the rules of the temple proved their contention that YSR had played havoc with the Tirumala temple “by making a non-believer (Mr Bhumana Karunakar Reddy) the TTD trust board chairman, apart from making an effort to realign the sacred Seven Hills of the Lord into two hills”. (Incidentally, Mr Karunakar Reddy is a Hindu, but his long association with the YSR family and his leftist orientation has led people to believe otherwise.)
Mr Karunakar Reddy, who is the YSR Congress candidate in the forthcoming Assembly elections, hit back by asking why Congress president Sonia Gandhi was not asked to make a declaration when she visited the temple. “YSR and his family members have immense faith in the Lord,” he said. He said that Mr Naidu was conspiring against the YSR family and had dragged it into a religious controversy for political mileage.
The BJP, the Left parties and religious forums jumped on to the bandwagon too and made political capital out of the incident. Though YSR regularly visited Tirumala temple, he had made a declaration only once. However, no one asked Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy to make a declaration when he had visited the temple when YSR was in power.
fromdc

Jagan in Tirumala temple sparks row

                                                                                      
Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, a practising Christian, created a major controversy on Wednesday by entering the temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala along with some 60 followers, without signing the declaration of religious faith meant for non-Hindu devotees.
It is a custom at the Tirumala temple since 1933, that a non-Hindu visitor must sign a form declaring that though he is a non-Hindu, he believes in Lord Venkateswara. The practice is more strictly enforced since 1960, TTD sources said.
The YSR Congress chief, who was on a two-day tour of Tirupati for the June 12 bypoll, entered the Vaikuntam Queue Complex-I in the morning with several followers for the darshan. TTD officials told his followers to get Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy to sign the declaration.
His aides included former TTD chairman and YSR Congress Tirupati candidate Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and former TTD trust board ex-officio member Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy.
Mr Reddy’s followers, both those who accompanied him inside temple and those who waited outside, raised slogans of “Jai Jagan!” when he came out of the Mahadwaram after darshan. There was a huge commotion as security personnel pushed away the sloganeering supporters. It did not take long for a religious controversy to acquire political overtones. Supporters of Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu, a vehement critic of the YSR family, seized on the incident to criticise the YSR Congress chief.
TTD to tighten rule for non-Hindus
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ rule for non-Hindu visitors to the famous temple of Lord Venkateswara finds lenient application, leading to periodic disapproval and divided opinion among the officials in charge of implementation.
It’s been a customary practice at the Tirumala temple, supposedly since 1933, for non-Hindu visitors to sign a form, stating, “I have full devotion, faith and belief in Lord Venkateswara,” with name, address and signature.
The practice has become more systematised since the 1960s, TTD sources said.
Many other major Hindu temples have this practice in some form. At the Meenakshi temple in Madurai and at the Pasupatinath temple in Kathmandu, boards are placed ahead of the sanctum sanctorum, debarring non-believers beyond that point. At Tirupati, since the 1980s, non-Hindu devotees usually followed the code voluntarily. Later, with the heavy influx of pilgrims, sometimes to over a lakh per day, it could not be implemented to the letter.
Foreigners do abide by it. Prominent non-Hindu devotees who visited the Tirumala temple include former railway minister Jaffer Shariff, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. They duly signed the form of faith declaration.
In Jagan Mohan Reddy’s case, his aides argue that as his father, late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, had already signed the declaration, it was not applicable to the son. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam authorities are expected to formulate a strict code for its implementation in the future.
from DC

Jagan eyes TTD votes, promises the moon to employeesJagan eyes TTD votes, promises the moon to employees

                                                                                            

YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy showered promises on the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) employees during his day-long road show in the city on Wednesday to canvass for the party candidate and former TTD chairman B.Karunakar Reddy.

With the TTD staff becoming an indispensable force and a collective opinion-maker on local issues in any elections, all the political parties have been pampering the lot and Jagan too did his best to keep them in good humour.

During his road show at close to a dozen spots in the city, the YSRCP chief said he and his party candidate knew the problems faced by the TTD employees and would not let them down in the ‘golden era' set to dawn soon. He promised house sites and ‘pucca' houses for the employees.

Besides, he assured to regularise the services of the contract employees. “If it becomes difficult, we will at least ensure that time scale is given to all contract employees,” he said, which was received with thunderous response. He did not forget to mention the water scarcity gripping the city at the various junctions where he held the road show.

Mega battle

Calling the by-elections a forerunner to the mega battle ‘Maha Sangramam' awaiting the State, he went philosophical when saying that truth and justice would ultimately prevail. Breathing fire at K. Chiranjeevi for his ‘promotion politics', he said the ex-MLA did not even show remorse for ‘letting down' his voters to secure a berth in the Rajya Sabha. He also flayed Chiru for choosing ex-officio membership in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation after getting into the upper House, pointing out that he had no intention of serving his voters again.

Mr. Karunakar Reddy said he knew the local problems better than the others and hence would do his best to solve them on priority basis. 

from hindu