Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had darshan of Goddess Sri Marakata Rajeswari and other deities at the Avadhoota Datta Peetham at Patamata here and met Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swami on Monday.
Endowments Minister Velampalli Srinivas, MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, Ministers Perni Venkataramaiah and Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao, TTD Trust Board Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy and MLAs Malladi Vishnu and Kolusu Parthasarathy, Mayor R. Bhagya Lakshmi, Principal Secretary (Endowments) Vani Mohan and Kanaka Durga temple trust board Chairman Paila Sominaidu were among those present.
Speaking to media persons later, Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swami said he had requested the Chief Minister to take steps for the protection of lands belonging to Hindu temples and not to disturb the hereditary archaka system which had been in vogue for a long time, and received a positive response.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was committed to protecting the Hindu dharma and the development of temples but he was apparently pained with the propaganda unleashed by some that he was anti-Hindu, the seer said.
He asserted that a person’s right to follow a particular religion could not be questioned, and attempts to drive a wedge among the people on religious lines were undesirable.
