It has now become a matter of routine that senior YSR Congress party leader and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy makes one allegation or other against the present TTD board regularly and the TTD comes out with rejoinders.
In fact, the TTD appears to be spending overtime in disproving Bhumana’s allegations on one issue or the other.
The board members are forced to be on toes, as Bhumana is coming out one allegation or the other to attack the present board.
On Tuesday Bhumana alleged that there was a shocking act of desecration at Alipiri, where a sacred idol of Sri Maha Vishnu was found amidst filth, liquor bottles, and human waste.
He stated that this grave incident has deeply wounded the sentiments of devotees and reflects the complete failure of the current TTD Board under Chairman B.R. Naidu.
According to him, the idol clearly bears the Shankha and Chakra, the divine symbols of Sri Maha Vishnu, and cannot be misrepresented as belonging to any other deity.
He called upon Hindu organizations and society at large to rise against this insult to their faith and to demand accountability from those entrusted with safeguarding Tirumala’s spiritual heritage.
Within hours, the TTD came out with a factcheck statement and clarified that the sculpture in question was not that of Lord Vishnu but an incomplete idol of Lord Shani, which had been discarded years ago by a sculptor named Pattu Kannayya due to defects.
“It has been lying there for over a decade. Anyone posting or sharing such misleading content on social media, which hurts the sentiments of devotees, would face legal consequences,” the TTD said in a statement.
TTD Board member and MLA M S Raju lashed out at Bhumana for running a fake campaign on social media with fabricated stories about TTD.
He said that the governing body would take a key decision in its meeting to initiate strict action against those spreading false propaganda.
Raju also urged devotees not to believe the fake narratives spread by former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, remarking sharply that Karunakar Reddy was “not even a true Hindu.”
Another TTD Board member and BJP leader Bhanu Prakash Reddy also hit out at Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, accusing him of regularly tarnishing TTD’s sanctity with false allegations.
He clarified that the disputed idol had been ordered by a devotee from Bengaluru and never collected. Mocking Bhumana, he said the YSRCP leader “could not even distinguish between Lord Vishnu and Lord Shani.”