Tirupati: Unfazed by criticism over his massive donations to temples apparently using taxpayers' money, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao Wednesday offered gold ornaments - worth Rs 5.6 crore - at the famous Lord Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati. The offering has been made to keep his vow of doing so if a separate Telangana state was formed.
KCR arrived with his wife and an entourage of cabinet ministers late Tuesday evening on a special flight in what is his maiden visit to the Andhra Pradesh shrine after the bifurcation of the state in June 2014.
KCR handed over a golden garland studded with fossilised shells called “Shaligram Haram” and a multi-layer gold necklace called “Makhara Kantabharanam,” totally weighing about 19 kg and worth about Rs 5 crore to the temple Executive Officer, D Sambasiva Rao this morning, PTI said, quoting sources.
Later, at the sprawling Ranganayaka Mandapam insideshrine, Rao was honoured with sacred silk cloth and prasadam while the high priests, amid chanting vedic hymns, bestowed blessings on him.
Before leaving for Hyderabad, Rao also offered his obeisance and made a gold offering at the shrine of Sri Padmavathi in Tiruchanur. Later this week, he will reportedly present a moustache of pure gold at the Veerabhadraswamy Temple in Kuravi.
Even though KCR had made a personal pledge to offer ornaments in temples, there are reports that the Telangana government has picked up the tab for “gold offerings” at various temples since 2014. There’s also a committee of three set up to oversee the making of the ornaments.
In October, KCR presented a golden crown weighing 11.700 kg and worth Rs 3.65 crore to goddess Bhadrakali in Warangal. He had also presented a crown and necklace to Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala and a nose stud to goddess Kanaka Durga in Vijayawada.
