Honorary chief priest of the temple of Lord Venkateswara, Venkataramana Dikshitulu, was criticised by his colleagues over remarks that he had allegedly made on social media against the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) administration.
Strongly refuting the allegations of Mr. Ramana Dikshitulu, current chief priests Venugopala Dikshitulu and Krishna Seshachala Dikshitulu demanded stern action against the honorary chief priest over the alleged remarks made in a video that has gone viral on social media.
Addressing a crowded media conference, the chief priests on Thursday termed the allegations of excavations inside the hill temple as totally false and baseless, and ruled out any kind of deviations in the conduct of the daily worship.
“The rituals are being carried out in strict adherence to the agama sastras under the guidance of the agama vidwans. There is no truth in the allegations that new pillars were brought inside the Ranga mandapam and Tirumala Raya mandapam and that the walls were defaced,” Mr. Venugopala Dikshitulu said.
They said it was unfortunate that Mr. Ramana Dikshitulu was targeting the TTD for his selfish gains with little concern for the sentiments of the devotees.
The excavation works inside the temple were carried out during his tenure ten years ago and stone pillars erected to provide support to the roof of the mandapams believed to have been constructed in the 13th century. Currently , the granite slabs are laid at the old parakamani hall, they said.
Deploring the management for its laxity in initiating stern action against Mr. Ramana Dikshitulu, they said that he was resorting to his oft-repeated tactics of hurling unfounded allegations at the management for want of cheap publicity and to overcome his ‘identity crisis’.
“Despite receiving a handsome salary and enjoying all the privileges extended by TTD, he seldom attends to his duties,” they alleged, adding that their intention behind addressing the media was only to make the public know the truth.
Not my voice, says Ramana Dikshitulu
Distancing himself from the controversial video, Mr. Ramana Dikshitulu said the voice was neither his nor did he make any critical remarks tarnishing the image of the institution and added that the contents were of a damaging nature to his personal image.
Meanwhile, the TTD, which has taken cognisance of the volatile nature of the issue, is contemplating lodging a complaint with the police to ascertain the veracity of the video.
On the other hand, pontiffs as well as potu workers expressed their anguish over the video.
