‘Ex-lawmakers can’t expect VIP treatment’

Rayapati outburst sets TTD officials thinking

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which is determined to streamline VIP darshan at the temple of Lord Venkateswara, is now confronted with the issue of extension of privileges to former people’s representatives.

The TTD thus far has not shown any discrimination between the present and former public representatives, but the discontentment expressed by former MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao on Monday over denial ‘harati,’ kicked up a fresh debate in official circles.

Tough stance

A majority of the officials feel that no privilege of any kind should be extended to any former public representative. This category of persons has no right to demand treatment on a par with those who have been elected by people, they argue.

Time has come for the management to adopt a tough stance to regain its image which it lost owing to unbridled racketeering in darshan tickets during the previous government’s rule, they opined.

The officials say they are neither in favour of nor against any political party. Their only concern it to ensure that the image of the institution is not affected because of the actions of a few who are in no way concerned with it. MPs and MLAs, irrespective of their political affiliations, should be treated equally but not those who lost the elections, they added.

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