VIJAYAWADA: Demanding that the State government withdraw its recent decision fixing 65 years as the retirement age for Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams (TTD) priests, BJP national spokesperson and MP GVL Narasimha Rao said that the TDP government had no right to remove AV Ramana Deekshitulu as chief priest. He wondered ‘if TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu, who is nearing 70 years, can be Chief Minister of a State, why priests can’t work after 65’.
In a press meet in New Delhi on Friday, Narasimha Rao said that the State government should conduct a thorough probe into the issues raised by Ramana Deekshitulu. “The TDP is interfering in the TTD administrative affairs as if the temple is another political outfit. If the State government does not have anything to hide and no one to protect, it should immediately come forward to probe the allegations,” he demanded.
He further added that the State government had no right to terminate the services of the head priests. “They interpreted GO 611 as per their convenience and decided to sack the priests. Who are they (government machinery) to remove the priests who are not even government employee?” he fumed.
Reacting on Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s claims that he would have become Prime Minister long ago if he wanted, the BJP leader said, “It is ridiculous that he claimed so. He didn’t dare to take up the PM’s post as he knew very well that he would not have continued for long. In fact, no leader of the United Front supported Naidu,” he said. He further added that Naidu was daydreaming about playing a key role in 2019 elections. “He was not able to do anything when he had 42 MPs in the past. What can he do now?” he quipped.