Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

BJP seeks white paper on `use of TTD funds by Govt.'

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUPATI June 27. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken serious exception to the Government's plan to use funds from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, the custodian of the world's richest temple, for its own purposes. The party also sought release of a white paper on "the several crores of rupees spent by the TTD towards Government activities".

A unanimous resolution to this effect was made at the executive meet of the party's Chittoor (East) district unit, which was chaired by its State office in-charge, K.Syamprasad, and attended by the Tirupati MP, N.Venkataswamy. Though resolutions on issues ranging from drought, dalits' problems, Tirupati municipality and so on had been inked, the ones relating to the TTD were strikingly vociferous and intended at warning the Government against treating the TTD as `a duck laying golden eggs'.

The TTD was also targeted for its alleged misuse of funds. Flaying it for its "lopsided priorities'', the BJP questioned the wisdom of the temple management in preferring A/C rooms and VIP suites to cottages/dormitories. Quoting from records, the leaders said that the suites remained vacant for most part of the year, even as the poor had to spend the night under trees.

Seeking shelving of the Rs.100-crore ropeway project, the BJP cautioned the TTD that the project, if realised, would promote Tirumala as a tourist destination, in its wake, relegating the spiritual significance of the temple town.

The party revived its demand for prefixing the word `Hindu' to `Dharma Prachara Parishad', one of the propagation arms of the TTD, to restore its earlier name. The TTD was also asked to expedite the Kumaradhara and Balaji reservoirs at Tirumala and Tirupati. The dismantling of the 1000-pillared mandapam opposite the Tirumala temple as part of the TTD's Mahaprakaram plan also came under fire.

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