HYDERABAD: A division bench of the High Court on Tuesday admitted a PIL which urged it to declare as illegal the huge expenditure of Rs 5 crore by the Telangana government on the visit of chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao to the Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada to offer a nose-stud of 57 diamonds. Rao, accompanied by his family members, went by a special flight and used government machinery to fulfil his personal vow, it was alleged.
The bench admitted the PIL filed by PL Vishweshwara Rao, who submitted that there would be no objection if KCR fulfilled his vow of visiting various temples and offering donations that he had made during the Telangana statehood agitation. But what was objectionable was the spending of public money for fulfilling his vows, the petitioner said.
Petitioner’s counsel Md. Abdul Qavi Abbasi told the court that the state government had earlier allocated Rs 5 crore worth of gold jewellery for Lord Balaji at Tirumala, Rs 59 lakh towards a 2-kg golden crown for Bhadrakali Ammavaru in Warangal, Rs 45,000 worth nose-stud for Padmavathi Ammavaru at Tiruchannuru etc. Such amounts can be utilised for the welfare of the public. The amounts incurred on KCR’s visits to various temples should be reimbursed to the state’s exchequer as it was the public money, he contended.