RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: The Commissioner of the Endowments department, V Anil Kumar, issued a memo to the executive officers of Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple in Vemulawada and Sri Laxmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Yadagirigutta on September 14, 2023. He requested funds amounting to Rs 10 crore, with Rs 5 crore from each of the two temples for the development of a few temples in the Kamareddy constituency.
The commissioner mentioned in the memo that he is taking action in accordance with the established rules and regulations. In response, opposition parties expressed their objections to the transfer of funds from the Vemulawada temple to temples in the Kamareddy constituency. They have called for a bandh in Vemulawada temple town on Saturday.
Meanwhile, BJP national general secretary and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, criticised Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, accusing him of using temples and deities for political gain. He alleged that the chief minister’s actions resemble those of the Nizam and Razakars, who exploited temples. He also termed the chief minister as “Naya Nizam” Kasim Chandrashekar Rizvi. Bandi expressed his belief that while allocating funds for Kamareddy temples’ development is not an issue, the transfer of funds from both temples is not the right approach.
State BJP executive committee member Gudur Narayana Reddy criticised Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for the department’s memo to divert Rs 5 crore from Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple to Kamareddy.
On the other hand, Vemulawada MLA Ch Ramesh Babu said that he met with MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao in Hyderabad. He requested that the transfer of funds from Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple in Vemulawada to Kamareddy constituency temples’ development be halted. The MLA said that Rama Rao responded by instructing the Endowment authorities to suspend the release of funds. Following protests and criticisms, on Friday evening, the Endowment department modified the memo, according permission to Anil Kumar to utilise Rs 10 crore from the common good funds (CGF) instead of obtaining funds from the temple directly.