Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday offered prayers at the famous hill temple of Lord Venkateswara.
Dr. Singh was received with traditional honours by the temple priests and officials of the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams (TTD) on his maiden visit to the hill shrine as Prime Minister. He was then led into the sanctum sanctorum of the hill temple amidst chanting of Vedic hymns in the accompaniment of the traditional temple music. He offered prayers to the main deity for about ten minutes. The Chief priest of the temple later presented Dr.Singh and A. P. Governor ESL Narasimhan, who accompanied him, with 'Silk Vastrams' of the Lord.
At the Ranganayakula mandapam inside the temple complex, Vedic pundits showered 'Vedasirvachanams' on him.
Among others who accompanied the Prime Minister were Union Ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde, M. Veerappa Moily, Praful Patel, Vilas Rao Deshmukh and Panabaka Lakshmi besides several State Ministers. Praja Rajyam Party ( PRP ) chief and the local legislator K.Chiranjeevi, Tirupathi M.P. Dr.Chinta Mohan also were present inside the temple.
After a brief rest at the Padmavathi guest house, Dr.Singh later visisted Tirupathi to participate in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the international airport.
