A good number of priests from various temples in the district and members of the Brahmin community, under the aegis of the Rashtriya Brahmana Sanghatan, called on Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu at Chandrayyapalem before be commenced the padayatra and expressed the support of the community to him. The sanghatan leaders appealed to the community members to welcome Mr. Naidu, who had come to end the despotic rule of the Congress.
The TDP president said that he was aware of the plight of the poorer sections among the Brahmin community. A majority of them were settling as ‘archakas’ (priests) and they were not being paid minimum wages. He promised, among other things, creation of a special fund for the benefit of poor Brahmins, construction of Veda Vignana Bhavans in all districts, hiking the salaries of ‘archakas’ and provision of Rs.1,000 as pension to retired priests besides house sites and houses for the poor Brahmins.