Prior to his visit to the Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala Hills on Friday, YSRCP chairman YS Jagan Reddy is expected to receive a notification from the police instructing him not to disobey prohibitory orders, according to news agency PTI.
The district police sent letters to several partygoers instructing them not to break section 30 of the Police Act. After the controversy surrounding the purported use of “beef tallow” in the well-known Tirupati laddus surfaced, Section 30—which prohibits public gatherings and processions—was implemented in the vicinity of the Tirupati temple.
According to the police official statement to PTI, “We have noticed several postings on social media platforms asking people to gather at certain places in Tirupati. The notices are nothing but cautioning them not to come and defy orders.”
A senior police officer informed PTI that due to messages circulated online urging party members to congregate at spots in Tirupati as a show of solidarity, Jagan Reddy may also receive a notice from the police after he lands at Renigunta Airport.
As part of state-wide rituals organized by his party, former chief minister Jagan Reddy has scheduled a visit to the Tirupati temple to atone for the “sin” committed by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, who claimed that the previous YSCRP government had used impure materials in the Tirupati laddus.
Former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman B Karunakar Reddy claimed that although he and a number of other party leaders had received notices from the police, he was nevertheless allowed to visit the temple with seven party members.
“Some of our leaders were given notices at midnight not to come out. It is nothing but madness if the officials ask Jagan Mohan Reddy to give a declaration, because he offered silk robes to Lord Venkateswara Swamy several times during festivals,” the former TTD chairman said PTI.
According to YSRCP general secretary Gadikota Srikanth Reddy, party leaders in Rayachoti, Annamayya District, had also received a warning not to go out.
The ruling NDA government insisted that the YSRCP chairman profess his faith before entering the temple, which has thrown controversy over his planned prayer visit.
Foreigners and non-Hindus must proclaim their faith in the presiding deity before they may access the shrine, according to regulations, according to a former bureaucrat.
Today at 4 p.m., Jagan Reddy is scheduled to leave from Gannavaram Airport for Renigunta, arriving in Tirumala by 7 p.m. He is scheduled to depart at 10:20 am on Saturday in order to pray.