Lokesh decries use of Sri Vari laddus for poll campaign

Amaravati: TDP national general secretary and MLC Nara Lokesh on Friday accused the YSRCP leaders of stooping to the lower levels of using even the sacred laddus of the Tirumala hill temple for seeking votes in the ongoing panchayat elections.

Lokesh termed it as evidence of how Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party leaders had no respect for the people as well as the God of the Seven Hills too. The State Election Commission (SEC) should disqualify the ruling party supported candidate who offered the Tirumala laddus as inducement for the voters.

In a statement here, Lokesh deplored that a large number of the Sri Vari laddus were distributed along with the voter slips in Thondavada panchayat in the Chandragiri assembly segment.

The ruling party leaders had done a lot of disrespect to the devotees and to the highly revered God. Since the YSRCP came to power, the devotees' sentiments were being hurt in some fashion or the other without any fear of God or the laws.

Lokesh said that this was an ulterior motive to win over voters along religious lines. But they forgot the fact that the Tirumala laddus were looked at with a lot of respect by the Hindu devotees.

At a time when pilgrims were struggling to get laddus atop the Seven Hills, thousands of laddus were finding their way into the hands of the YSRCP leaders. Action should be initiated against the staff of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams who were responsible for this.

Terming it as a clear instance of election code violations, Lokesh demanded that the cases should be filed for disrespecting God, illegally transporting in the ration deliver vehicle, violating election code and for caste discrimination.

The laddus should be considered for their devotional value but the ruling party leaders used them as general commodity. Along with threats and false cases, religious sentiments were also being misused by the ruling party leaders in the panchayat elections.

The TDP has been alleging that the TTD was not able to check rising other religious propaganda on the Tirumala hill. The Opposition leaders have also objected to the sale of the TTD properties.

It was out of devotion and sentiment that the Swamivari devotees from different places have made donations to the temple. Such property should be preserved as a token of their devotion to God, he said.