TTD land allotment for resort a grave sacrilege: CPI

Communist Party of India (CPI) national executive member K. Narayana on Saturday (December 27) termed the controversial allotment of a site belonging to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in Alipiri to build a private resort as a classic example of ‘corporate assault on sacred land’.

During his visit to the site in Alipiri, the Tirumala foothills, here, he called the government’s decision as a “grave sacrilege and an unacceptable assault on faith, public interest and temple sanctity”.

“Leaving aside the question of price and kickbacks, the fundamental question is over using a temple land in a sacred pilgrim zone for constructing a star hotel, which includes bars, pubs and non-vegetarian food,” he said.

Mr. Narayana wondered if the TTD trust board even had the authority to take such decisions, and asked if the governments were behind it. He suspected that the “real remote control” operated from Delhi in this matter.

Recalling that a similar attempt was made during the erstwhile YSRCP regime, which was then opposed by the general public backed by the TDP leaders, Mr. Narayana wondered how the TDP-led NDA regime could go ahead with a proposal it had objected to in the past.