The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) management of turning the much-acclaimed 614th birthday fete of Tallapaka Annamacharya into an insignificant event.
Addressing reporters on Monday, the party’s State secretary Nagothu Ramesh Naidu said that Annamayya Jayanti used to be a high-profile event, with the village of Tallapaka near Rajampeta — the birthplace of the saint-poet — witnessing a lot of activity from a fortnight in advance. Social activists and students would be invited to the event in large numbers, he said.
“However, the event has turned out to be a damp squib this time, with pandals erected only one day before the event. Nobody gave any information about the event,” he rued.
The party leader recalled that Srivari Laddus were made available on Saturdays at Tallapaka in the past, and also flayed the TTD for removing the ticket booking counter set up here. “The tall claims of launching a music college and consecrating a Venkateswara temple still remain on paper, with no concrete action being taken so far,” Mr. Naidu ridiculed.
He also criticised the TTD for turning itself into an ‘event management company’ and stopping well-intended schemes like ‘Dalita Govindam’, which he said helped in preventing religious conversions.
