Tirumala chief priest A.V. Ramana Deekshitulu was at the butt of severe criticism by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his alleged recent comment equating Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy with Lord Vishnu.
In his tweet that has gone viral, BJP’s State co-in-charge Sunil Deodhar accused Deekshitulu of having ‘insulted the God Himself’. The tweet said: “Ramana Dikshithulu, by calling an On-Bail CM (who breeds pastors that call God Balaji a Saitan) an incarnation of Vishnu, you’ve insulted the God himself & crores of his devotees. With your boot licking of an anti-Hindu family, you removed sanctity of Pradhan Archak post in TTD”. Mr. Deodhar also added an undated photo of the Chief Minister getting blessings at a church, along with that of the chief priest. Though the tweet got over 1000 likes and 500 retweets within an hour, it nevertheless incurred the wrath of the twitterati for bordering on personal vilification.
Similarly, BJP State spokesperson Samanchi Srinivas, in a video released to the media, decried that the chief priest had let down the faith of crores of Hindus by equating a person with the Almighty. “He might have chosen to thank the CM for the favours received, but not in this manner. It seems he has adorned the YSRCP flag and become the party spokesman,” he remarked.
Paripoornananda reacts
Chittoor Staff Reporter adds: meanwhile, Sri Peetam pontiff Swami Paripoornananda condemned the alleged observations of Mr. Ramana Deekshitulu.
Speaking to the media along with the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders at Tirupati, Mr. Paripoornananda termed the act of comparing a human being with the divine incarnation as “a big sin”. He said in the past also some political leaders took pride comparing their might with the divine, but this tendency would only lead to one’s destruction.
He said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy should answer three questions: “Why the State government is afraid of bringing the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams under the ambit of the Right to Information Act? Why the State government is afraid to publish a White Paper on the assets and jewels of Lord Venkateswara? When Endowments Minister V. Srinivas himself had announced that 375 temples were under dilapidated conditions, is it not the responsibility of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy to protect the Hindu temples?”
