Tirumala visit: Prayed for both AP, Telangana, says K Chandrasekhar Rao

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his entourage offered prayers at Tirumala on Wednesday.

Speaking to the press soon after his visit, Mr Rao said he had prayed for the prosperity of both the Telugu-speaking states. He was also confident that all troubles between the two states would be resolved soon.

The Chief Minister has been under fire for the rather expensive gift of ornaments he carried with him to the shrine. But that didn’t stop him from offering his support towards the construction of a Balaji temple in Hyderabad.

Mr Rao added that he had finally fulfilled his wish of donating jewels to the temple, on behalf of the Telangana government. For the visit, he was joined by wife Shobha, daughter Kavitha and other family members.

The Chief Minister first offered prayers at the Sri Bhuvaraha Swamy temple and Swamy Pushkarini and reached Tirumala temple later, following tradition. The TRS leader’s gift of ornaments was later handed over to the TTD as per procedure and the state’s leader also praised the temple officials for all the arrangements. Meanwhile, back in Hyderabad, the opposition has slammed Mr Rao for what they claimed was a “brazen misuse of public money”. BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao alleged that Mr Rao is “possibly the only CM in the entire country today who spends public money so brazenly for personal reasons”. The TRS, while deflecting criticism, maintained that it was a secular party and said money was spent “during Ramzan and Christmas too.”

K Chandrasekhar Rao’s gifts are made by coimbatore-based firm
Two sets of jewels donated to Lord Venkateswara by the TS government includes a Saligrama Haram, weighing about 14 kilos and another piece, weighing about four kilos — taking the total weight of the “gift” to slightly above 19 kilos.

The jewellery, weighing in about 19 kg and worth about Rs 5.59 crore, that was presented to the Tirumala temple.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s offering then is worth an estimated Rs 5 crores. The ornaments were made by Coimbatore-based Keerthilal Kalidoss jewelry under the supervision of TTD.

Mr Rao also presented a golden nose pin weighing around 12.5 grams, which was studded with precious stones worth around Rs 1.18 lakh