Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has brushed off criticism that he has been squandering public money to fulfil his vows to different temples in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. After his high voltage visit to Lord Balaji temple in Tirupati on Wednesday, KCR is keen on making offerings to two more temples in the next few days.
KCR is perhaps the first Chief Minister in the country to offer costly gold jewellery to the Gods in his official capacity. Though there are customs in some temples where the endowments departments of respective state governments offer symbolic offerings, KCR has set a practice of issuing government order (GO) to release funds from the exchequer to the tune of Rs 10 crore.
What was objected to by the rationalists as well as the opposition parties, including Congress and BJP, in Telangana is that the Chief Minister has chosen to release funds to offer gold and jewellery to the temple Gods and Goddesses at a time when the state is reeling under drought and lack of funds for students’ scholarships under the fee-reimbursement scheme.
“KCR has vowed to make some offerings to these temples in his personal capacity as a political leader; he can do so by spending his personal funds or from his TRS party. But how can he release funds from the public exchequer? This is a new practice in the country and it will lead to a new practice, if other CMs, too, follow it,” T.V. Rao, convener of Jana Vignana Vedika, told The Sunday Guardian.
KCR, who rode to power after the formation of Telangana in June 2014, has announced that he had prayed to the Gods to offer some gold ornaments at different temples in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh. They include golden ornaments to Bhradrakali, a local name of the Durga temple at Hanamkonda, Lord Balaji at Tirupati, Durga temple in Vijayawada and Veerabhadra temple at Kuravi.
As part of the vows, he first visited the Bhadrakali temple in Warangal in Telangana six months ago and offered a golden crown valued at Rs 3.5 crore. Even then there was criticism that the temple, which is small in size and located in a remote hillock on the city outskirts, cannot afford to provide security to the crown and had to struggle to maintain the valuable gift.
The gold and jewellery gifts to the Lord Balaji temple at Tiruapti were costlier. A “Saligrama” weighing 14.12 kg, a necklace of 4.9 kg to the Lord and a nose stud of 12.5 grams to his consort, Goddess Padmavati – all put together cost Rs 5.40 crore, including making charges. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had allotted the ornaments making to a Tamil Nadu based jeweller in an open bid.
The timing and the manner in which KCR visited Tirupati this week has raised more objections as it came against the backdrop of a foiled rally by the unemployed under the aegis of the Telangana political parties’ joint action committee (T-JAC) on Wednesday. KCR, along with his wife, daughter, an MP, Kavitha’s family and other relatives and ministers and their families, totalling 47, went to Tirupati by a special flight.
The opposition had objected to the “royal” manner in which he had visited Tirupati, though the ruling TRS leaders pointed to a wave of goodwill between AP and Telangana, thanks to the visit. They said that the Chief Minister’s visit to Tirupati had not only fulfilled his vows, but also helped cement the strained relations between the two states.
His first visit to Tirupati after the state bifurcation hasn’t been lost on the Andhra Pradesh government and its politicians. AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had ordered his senior minister Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy to receive KCR personally and make all arrangements for his pilgrimage. TTD has gone out of the way and rolled out to him a VVIP treatment which is usually extended to the President or Prime Minister.
Immensely pleased with the grand welcome he got at Tirupati, KCR later told his leaders that he had faith in the Gods and did not mind the criticism on such matters.
He also said that he had prayed for the wellness of people of both the Telugu states.
AP minister Gopalakrishna Reddy who spoke to this newspaper on phone on Thursday said: “I am very happy to receive an old friend (KCR).”
Congress leader in the Telangana Legislative Council, Mohammad Ali Shabbir wondered why the CM had spent so much of public money to fulfil his personal vow to a temple. BJP Telangana president K. Lakshman, too, felt that the Chief Minister should keep the visit simple without any fanfare at a time when the unemployed in the city rallied for jobs.
Unmindful of such criticism, KCR decided to fulfil his other vow to Lord Veerabhadra Swamy at Kuravi in Mahabubabad district on Friday and offer golden moustaches as is the local custom. KCR with his wife will fly to the temple by a chopper and perform pujas there. His only remaining vow is to offer a golden crown to Goddess Durga at Vijayawada which he will fulfil very soon, sources said.