Harish’s Yadadri Puja Sparks Controversy
Harish Rao and other leaders visited the Yadagirigutta temple and all of a sudden an unknown priest performed politically linked pooja at temple ‘madaveedhi’, which is not permissible as per temple customs and traditions, the complaint stated.
By : P. Srinivas
Update: 2024-08-22 12:34 GMT
Yadadri-Bhongir: BRS senior MLA T. Harish Rao conducting a puja in the mada veedulu of the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Yadadri in the name of ‘papa prakshalana’ created a political controversy on Thursday. Along with BRS MLC Deshpathi Srinivas and former MLA Gongidi Sunitha, Harish Rao said that the pandits had informed him that such puja should be conducted if the rulers “committed a sin.”
After the puja, Harish Rao said that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had taken a pledge on the name of Gods to waive crop loans during the Lok Sabha elections campaign but did not implement his promise. The CM had not only cheated farmers but also the Gods. Hence, he said, he came to Yadadri temple to perform the puja.
The BRS leader urged the Chief Minister to visit the temple and offer an apology to the farmers from the hill shrine “for not fulfilling his promise”.
After Harish Rao left the temple, Government Whip and Alair MLA Bheerla Ailaiah reached the temple and cleaned the mada veedulu and other places that Harish Rao visited. He said that it was Harish Rao who had failed to fulfill his promise. “Harish Rao pledged to resign as MLA if the crop loan waiver was completed. The government has completed the waiver of crop loans of up to Rs 2 lakh on August 15, but Harish Rao is silent on his promises,” Ailaiah said.
Endowment department officials ordered temple executive officer (EO) N. Bhaskar Rao to submit a report on the incident. They opined that conducting such puja in mada veedulu was a crime as per Section 7 of the Endowment Act.
The temple EO filed a complaint against Harish Rao, Srinivas, Sunitha and some priests who conducted the puja. In the complaint, EO Bhaskar Rao said some unidentified priests, who did not belong to the temple, all of a sudden performed the politicised puja in the mada vedulu. The EO said the act of the BRS leaders was highly objectionable and severely hurt the sentiments of the devotees. He requested the police to file a case against them and take necessary action.