Row over Jerusalem ads on Tirumala tickets
There is a ban on any form of canvassing by non-hindu religions in Tirupati and Tirumala.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is embroiled in a fresh controversy over printing of advertisements of Jerusalem tour on the back of RTC tickets sold in buses plying between the temple town of Tirupati and Tirumala Hills where Lord Balaji is worshipped. Already, there is a ban on any form of canvassing by non-hindu religions in Tirupati and Tirumala.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which looks after Tirupati-tirumala buses, swung into action on Saturday and withdrew the bus tickets which carried the Jerusalem advertisements, but already, the ruling YSR Congress suffered the wrath of a few Hindu groups. These groups alleged that some forces close to Chief Minister Jagan were behind this entire episode.
Forays of Christian evangelists in and around Tirupati and Tirumala is not a new thing and in the past, those found to be promoting their religion were taken into custody following complaints from local Hindu groups. Curiously, some Christian groups have made it a point to target the pilgrims of Tirumala for spreading gospel.
Every day, RTC plies around 1,000 buses from Tirupati to Tirumala and tickets are issued to around 35,000 devotees. The shelf life of advertisements on back of these tickets is huge as most pilgrims keep the tickets with themselves after the pilgrimage.
Chief Minister Jagan Reddy is in an embarrassing situation as he belongs to a Christian family, though he visits Hindu temples and doesn’t openly profess any particular religion. Jagan’s forefathers had converted to Christianity long ago, but his father and late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, too, never missed an opportunity to visit Tirumala temple or Hindu seers.
This particular ad on the Tirumala bus tickets pertains to a tour operator who offered discounted prices for Jerusalem pilgrimage. Usually, APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) auctions space on back of its tickets for advertisers, as a way of revenue. The ticket rolls from Nellore zone of RTC under which Tirupatitirumala falls contained this Jerusalem advertisement.
On the orders from CM Jagan, who is currently on a tour to the United States, the RTC has withdrawn the tickets and ordered a probe as to how they were supplied to the Tirupati bus depot, in the first place. A statement issued by RTC’S Nellore zone on Friday night stated that the tickets were printed in March 2019, when TDP was in power.
BJP national general secretary Sunil Deodhar attacked the YSR Congress government and said that people of Andhra Pradesh would teach a fitting lesson to Jagan.
It is a fact that Hindu groups are vigilant in Tirupati and they have even questioned the credentials of former TTD trust board chairman Sudhakar Yadav as he was seen with some Christian groups in his native Kadapa district sometime ago. The issue subsided only after it was made clear that he was a devout Hindu and a devotee of Lord Venkateswara.
This Christian tag has become a headache for Chief Minister Jagan Reddy recently, as some Hindu groups have raised questions on his credentials during his current US tour too. Jagan attended a conference of Telugu people in Dallas and some videos showed him not coming forward to light a traditional lamp, marking beginning of the ceremony.
However, Jagan’s CMO issued a clarification later, saying that there was no formal lighting of lamp and an electrical bulb and a candle were used to mark the occasion.