Telangana Minister of Endowments Konda Surekha has written to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu highlighting the difficulties of Telangana devotees in availing darshan at the Tirumala temple. Although the AP government re-implemented the recommendation letter scheme for Telangana public representatives, its intermittent implementation has resulted in increasing discontent among devotees and leaders.
In her appeal, Konda Surekha noted that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officials are not strictly adhering to the directive, resulting in unnecessary confusion and inconvenience to Telangana devotees. Even though she recognized the government’s move to bring back the recommendation letter system, she stressed the need for proper and fair implementation.
She brought to light the growing number of Telangana pilgrims making a pilgrimage to Tirumala and pointed out that despite the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu devotees, particularly those from Telangana, keep coming to the shrine of Lord Venkateswara in huge numbers. But the non-priority given to recommendation letters from Telangana leaders has caused trouble to many devotees.
Konda Surekha requested that CM Chandrababu Naidu personally see to it that TTD officials implement the system in a way that Telangana devotees are not put to unnecessary inconvenience in getting darshan.
Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had directed TTD to accord priority to recommendation letters from Telangana representatives. But because of the increasing demand for break darshan slots, TTD has been giving priority to general devotees and thus causing delays in processing these recommendations.
With rising ire among Telangana leaders over this issue, Konda Surekha has now approached CM Chandrababu Naidu directly for his intervention. Time will tell how the Andhra Pradesh government will tackle this growing anger.
