ECI Rejects CM Request; Allows Wedding Telecast

Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has denied permission to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy or endowments minister Konda Surekha to offer silver clothes (pattu vastralu) and pearls (muthyala talambralu) on the occasion of the kalyanotsavam at the Sri Sita Ramachandraswamy temple at Bhadrachalam on Sri Rama Navami on Wednesday in view of model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections.

However, the ECI on Tuesday permitted the live telecast of the kalyanam celebrations at the temple.

The ECI reversed its earlier April 4 decision barring the telecast and said that the live broadcast of the event would be permitted as long as the model code of conduct guidelines were adhered to.

The state government had previously approached the ECI to permit the telecast. After this request was turned down, endowments minister Konda Surekha on Monday again appealed to the ECI to reconsider its decision.

BJP OBC Morcha national president and Rajya Sabha member Dr K Laxman hailed the decision of the EC permitting live telecast of celebrations at Bhadrachalam temple. He alleged that the Congress government tried hard using the EC to stop the live telecast but the BJP got approval from the EC.

Earlier in the day, the BJP suspected a political conspiracy and the role of the Revanth Reddy government behind the ECI decision to stop the live telecast. People across the country have been watching the celebrations for the last 40 years, even at the time of polls.

A BJP delegation led by Dr K. Laxman met the Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj and requested him to allow the live telecast, which would be the Rama Navami event after the consecration of the Lord Rama temple in Ayodhya.

The party said that then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had violated the practice by not personally visiting the temple but sending `talambralu’ for the `kalyanam’of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita. “He faced the consequences," Dr Laxman said. “The Revanth Reddy government must see that the live telecast is arranged from the Bhadrachalam temple.”

Stating that they were hoping for a favorable stand from the Election Commission, Dr Laxman said they will approach the court seeking action against the concerned if the live telecast was not allowed.