Mahinda Rajapaksa worships at Tirumala amid protests

Tirumala: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala early hours Wednesday amid high tension as 69 MDMK activists tried to obstruct his convoy and were taken into custody. Reporter Gunasekaran of Sun TV was roughed up and taken to the police station along with the MDMK cadres. They were released later in the day.

President Rajapaksa had arrived by special aircraft at Renigunta on Tuesday and took a helicopter to the Venkateswara university ground from where he was driven amid tight security to Padmavathy guesthouse atop Tirumala. His astrologer had reportedly advised the Buddhist Sinhala leader that worshipping Venkateswara would ensure victory in the January 8 Presidential poll.

Accordingly, President Rajapaksa arrived at Lord’s abode at about 3 a.m. to participate in the Suprabatham seva. Senior TTD officials led by Tirumala JEO K.S. Sreenivasa Raju and the temple priests accorded the Lankan President a traditional welcome and conducted him to the sanctum sactorum. After spending almost an hour there, the President boarded the car for the short drive to the guesthouse and begin the journey back home.

Despite the extensive steps taken by the police, such as screening all the people who entered Tirumala / Tirupati, to ensure that the MDMK and the PMK, whose leaders had announced protests in the hill shrine, 69 MDMK cadres managed to slip through the cop cordon and try to show black flags at the Lepakshi Circle. They were all taken into custody along with reporter S. Gunasekaran of a Tamil TV channel, and released later in the evening. It may be noted that any kind of protest, even apolitical, is banned at Tirumala.