Maddila Gurumoorthy, the Member of Parliament for Tirupati, a representative of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), has formally called upon both the Union Government and the Supreme Court to intervene in the escalating dispute over the Tirumala Parakamani. This refers to the sacred process of counting monetary and other offerings made by devotees at the world-famous Tirumala temple.
On Monday, Mr. Gurumoorthy dispatched individual letters: one to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting a comprehensive Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, and another to Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, advocating for a Judicial Commission of Inquiry, ideally led by a sitting Supreme Court judge.
The MP conveyed his profound apprehension, stating that the Andhra Pradesh government has leveled “unsubstantiated allegations” of financial mismanagement, theft, and misuse of these holy offerings at Tirumala. He stressed that these accusations lack concrete evidence or an unbiased investigation, labelling them as “politically motivated.” Such claims, he warned, have “severely tarnished the sanctity of one of Hinduism’s most revered holy sites.”
Mr. Gurumoorthy passionately articulated, “The Tirumala Parakamani represents far more than a mere financial ledger; it embodies the living faith, devotion, and surrender of approximately 1.2 billion Hindus across the globe.” He cautioned that injecting politics into such a sacred ritual “strikes at the very essence of spiritual belief and divine connection.”
He further highlighted that these ongoing discussions have caused widespread distress among devotees, eroding their trust in the temple’s administration and potentially jeopardizing communal harmony. Emphasizing the critical need for both trustworthiness and impartiality, the MP argued that a CBI investigation would foster transparency, while a Supreme Court-supervised judicial inquiry would guarantee that the truth is uncovered “through an unimpeachable and unquestionable process.”
Mr. Gurumoorthy concluded by underscoring the broad impact of this controversy. It not only affects the millions of pilgrims who visit Tirumala annually but also resonates deeply with the collective spiritual sentiment of 1.2 billion Hindus worldwide, who regard Tirumala as the spiritual epicenter of their faith.