Monday February 27 2006
The Balaji temple at Chilkur
HYDERABAD: Angered over the Endowment Department’s decision to constitute a trust board for the Balaji temple at Chilkur near here, its hereditary trustee M V Sounder Rajan on Sunday threatened to lock the temple and hand over the keys to Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on March 12, if the trust board comes into existence by that day.
The Endowment Department issued a notification last week inviting applications from interested persons to become members of the proposed trust board after a division bench of the High Court directed that it should be constituted by March 12.
The court also directed the Deputy Commissioner (Endowments) to decide the case of founder-trustee of the temple at the earliest.
Announcing an agitation programme from Monday against the move, Sounder Rajan called upon devotees and members of the Temples Protection Movement not to buy ‘darshan’ tickets in temples, including the abode of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala.
He also urged devotees to protest against the VIP and break ‘darshan’ in temples.
He wanted them to file hundreds of public interest litigations urging the court to freeze the Endowments Administration Fund, which was nothing but the money collected by ‘fleecing’ devotees to maintain the ‘corrupt’ government staff.
The hereditary trustee demanded that the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Act be amended as per the decision taken at an all-party meeting in October 2004. Though a draft bill was prepared by experts, it was kept in cold storage by some vested interests, he said.
“The trust board proposal is a treacherous act of the endowments officials. The decision was taken without the knowledge of the Chief Minister or the Endowments Minister,” he said.
According to Sounder Rajan, Rajasekhara Reddy himself promised to review the 30/87 legislation during his visit to the temple.
“We are seeking exemption under Section 154 of the Endowments Act like the Hanuman temple at Tadbun, AC Subba Reddy temple in Nellore, temples of Sai Baba and Kanyaka Parameswari,” he said.
The Endowment Department issued a notification last week inviting applications from interested persons to become members of the proposed trust board after a division bench of the High Court directed that it should be constituted by March 12.
The court also directed the Deputy Commissioner (Endowments) to decide the case of founder-trustee of the temple at the earliest.
Announcing an agitation programme from Monday against the move, Sounder Rajan called upon devotees and members of the Temples Protection Movement not to buy ‘darshan’ tickets in temples, including the abode of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala.
He also urged devotees to protest against the VIP and break ‘darshan’ in temples.
He wanted them to file hundreds of public interest litigations urging the court to freeze the Endowments Administration Fund, which was nothing but the money collected by ‘fleecing’ devotees to maintain the ‘corrupt’ government staff.
The hereditary trustee demanded that the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Act be amended as per the decision taken at an all-party meeting in October 2004. Though a draft bill was prepared by experts, it was kept in cold storage by some vested interests, he said.
“The trust board proposal is a treacherous act of the endowments officials. The decision was taken without the knowledge of the Chief Minister or the Endowments Minister,” he said.
According to Sounder Rajan, Rajasekhara Reddy himself promised to review the 30/87 legislation during his visit to the temple.
“We are seeking exemption under Section 154 of the Endowments Act like the Hanuman temple at Tadbun, AC Subba Reddy temple in Nellore, temples of Sai Baba and Kanyaka Parameswari,” he said.
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