Telangana CM under flak for Tirupati offering with public money

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's Rs.5.59 crore offering to Lord Venkateswara temple to fulfil his vow has came under flak from opposition parties, who termed it a "splurge of public money".

KCR, along with his family members, ministers and officials, Wednesday offered ornaments worth Rs 5 crore to Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh to fulfil the vow he had taken during the movement for a separate Telangana state.

The Chief Minister also made another offering at Padmavathi temple.

KCR, his family members, ministers and officials had reached Tirupati by special aircraft on Tuesday. Temple officials said this reminded them of the days when kings of princely states used to travel with their entourage to make the offerings.

His thanksgiving trip to the two famous temples in Tirupati and the offerings which cost a whopping Rs 5.59 crore to state exchequer, has not gone down well with the opposition parties and other critics.

Interestingly, when KCR was making the offerings in Tirupati to fulfill his vow, unemployed youth and students were on streets in Hyderabad demanding that he fulfill his poll promise of one lakh jobs.

The protestors clashed with police at few places in the city as police foiled the rally of the unemployed called by Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC).

TJAC leader M. Kodandaram, who fought for Telangana state with KCR but is now a major critic of TRS chief, leaders of opposition parties and student groups were arrested.

Leaders of main opposition Congress demanded that KCR stop wasting public money on his religious beliefs. Senior leader M. Sashidhar Reddy said it was not good on part of a Chief Minister to make such an offering with public money.

The Bharatiya Janata Party too criticised KCR. Party spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao said that KCR possibly is the only CM in the entire country who spends public money so brazenly for personal reasons.

"He seems to be totally convinced that he has been elected to be the King of Telangana state and totally oblivious of the fact, that he is an elected representative in a democratic system. He is on a brazen trip of personal splurge of public money," he said.

The BJP leader said KCR must understand that he is only the custodian of public money for a period of 5 years.

"He is also accountable for every rupee he is splurging for wasteful expenditure. BJP doesn't have any objection to one's religious beliefs and personal vows to god; however these vows have to be fulfilled in individual capacity and not by using public money," he said.

Rao warned TRS chief to put a stop to this politics of caste and religious appeasement through wasteful expenditure of hard-earned tax payer's money. "CM KCR and his government should focus on governance and fulfilling the promises and vows made to the electorate in TRS election manifesto," he added.

--IANS

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