BJP, TDP find fault with Subba Reddy’s remarks

VIJAYAWADA:  Finding fault with TTD trust board chairperson YV Subba Reddy’s statement that it is not mandatory for non-Hindus to sign a declaration form to enter the temple, BJP State unit questioned the need to change the system being followed for decades and demanded that Subba Reddy retract his statement.  

BJP State chief Somu Veeraju said  such decisions should be taken after considering all aspects as it would pertain to other religions across the country. Former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam had also signed the register declaring his faith when he visited the shrine, he recalled. 

BJP member and former chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao, who also served as the EO of the devasthanams, said “The declaration of faith is not a recent one and has been in practice for decades...

There is no rule that the Chief Minister himself has to offer the silk robes. The Endowments minister can also take forward the tradition.” Meanwhile, in an indirect reference to the Chief Minister, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu asserted that the long established traditions at Tirumala should not be changed for the sake of a “non-believer”. Naidu, taking to Twitter on Saturday, insisted that traditions, which have been followed from centuries, cannot be changed.