Swaroopanandendra Saraswati withdraws his request to extend temple courtesies
Vijayawada: The controversy over extending “temple courtesies” to Swami Swaroopanandendra Saraswati, seer of the Sri Sarada Peetham in Visakhapatnam, ended on Tuesday with the seer withdrawing his request to the state government for the privilege.
Temple courtesies include presenting of “teertha prasadams and sesha vastram” to the seer on his birthday on Wednesday by the archakas (priests) from temples of prominence in the state.
A controversy has been made out of the annual ritual, which is in vogue for the last 12 years, with the Opposition Telugu Desam linking it to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy who turns to Swami Swaroopanandendra for spiritual guidance.
Following a memo from the endowments department to prominent temples to extend courtesies to the seer, a public interest litigation was filed in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. S.S. Prasad, senior counsel representing the Sarada Peetham, informed the court about the seer withdrawing his request. The court disposed of the matter after recording the submissions made by the Peetham counsel.
Sources close to the seer told Deccan Chronicle that he was baffled over the issue being politicised and decided to end the controversy. “The authorities of temples including Simhachalam, Annavaram and Srisailam have been visiting Swami and presenting sesha vastram for more than a decade irrespective of the party in power,” sources pointed out. The only difference this year is that there is a memo from the government, they added.
Ironically, Y. Ramakrishnudu, former finance minister and senior TD leader, made a scathing attack against the state government for compromising on the secular nature of governance by giving prominence to Swami Swaroopanandendra.
“This (extending courtesies) is also against the Hindu tradition,” said Ramakrishnudu, who himself visited the seer on the latter’s birthday in his capacity as minister. During the five-year tenure of Telugu Desam, temple authorities called on the seer and extended courtesies.
The TD also made a controversy out of the Chief Minister not signing a declaration before visiting Tirumala a few months ago, though it ignored the same during Reddy’s previous visits including as Chief Minister last year to attend brahmotsavam.
