Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 26 : Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader Karthik Yellapragada on Tuesday accused the Andhra Pradesh coalition government of a "calculated betrayal" involving Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) lands.
He accused the Andhra coalition government of orchestrating the "biggest conspiracy" against the sanctity of Lord Venkateshwara's temple lands and accused the coalition government of conspiring to surrender 20 acres of TTD land worth Rs 1500 crore to Oberoi Hotels.
Yellapragada said, "The coalition government is getting exposed on the biggest conspiracy against the sanctity of Lord Venkateshwara's temple lands. This is just not an administrative decision. It's a calculated betrayal. At the heart of the scheme, Chief Minister Naidu, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, and TTD Chairman BR Naidu, together, are masterminding a plan to surrender 20 acres of priceless Tirumla Tirupati Devasthanam lands, valued at Rs 1500 crore. They're giving all of this to a private giant, Oberoi Hotels."
He criticised the government for engineering the land transfer under the "convenient cover of land exchange," wherein the temple receives rural tracts deemed "worthless."
"All of this is being done under a convenient cover of land exchange. But what are we getting in return? The worthless rural tracts from the tourism department. This is just not an exchange. This is a barter system where the TTD temple is losing over a 1000 crore."
Yellapragada alleged that the government order was issued without even mentioning land valuation, which he called "daylight robbery."
"The process reveals the conspiracy... On May 7, a special meeting was conducted with just a single agenda and a government order was issued without even mentioning land valuation. This is nothing short of daylight robbery," the YSRCP said.
The YSRCP leader questioned as to why "a temple land, when acres of government land are unused".
He warned, "Why attack the TTD property that belongs to Lord Venkateshwara and his devotees? This is not an issue of development. This is a direct assault on Hindu Dharma."
Demanding a rollback, he said that the move is ruling government's "attempt to commercialise the divine property for private interests."
Yellapragada said, "We demand an immediate rollback of this betrayal. We call upon devotees across the world to rise and protest to safeguard the legacy of TTD lands. This conspiracy must not succeed. The sanctity of Tirumala cannot be sold."