Endowments Minister lashes out at Ashok

‘He is not interested in solution to land row’

June 17, 2021 11:32 pm | Updated 11:32 pm IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

Endowments Minister Velampalli Srinivas lashed out at TDP leader Ashok Gajapathi Raju here on Thursday, alleging that the former Union Minister was not interested in finding a solution to the ‘panchagramalu’ land issue.

Mr. Srinivas was speaking to reporters after visiting the temple of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at Simhachalam, along with his family.

The Minister said that at a time when the public, archakas and temple staff were seeking a solution to the land row, hereditary trustee Mr. Ashok alone was indulging in double standards on the issue. He sought to know whether or not Mr. Ashok was interested in finding a solution to the problem.

Alleging that Mr. Ashok was acting at the behest of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Minister said a solution to the land issue would not only benefit all aggrieved parties but also earn revenue for the temple. Refuting the allegations of Mr. Ashok, he said that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has not taken a single rupee from the Endowments Department and the former Union Minister should have known that it was not possible to divert funds from the department to the ‘Vahana Mitra’ scheme.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that Mr. Ashok was unable to come to terms with the appointment of his elder brother Anand Gajapathi Raju’s daughter Sanchaita Gajapathi as the chairperson of the Simhachalam temple trust board and was politicising the issue.

Mr. Ashok was reinstated by the High Court as chairperson of the Simhachalam Trust Board a couple of days ago.

Earlier, the Minister was received by Executive Officer M.V. Suryakala, officials and members of the trust board. After darshan of the deity, he visited the ‘Kalyana mandap’ which was spruced up as part of recent renovation works.

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