After the chief minister's recent directive to the TTD mandarins, the question doing the rounds atop the seven hills is: Will the
richest religious corporate in the world restrict `free access' of VIPs to the `Lord of Riches'?
Sources said everybody is expecting the temple management to wipe off its `pro-rich' image and be more pilgrim-friendly by bringing in the requisite changes in the existing VIP protocol darshan. "With Y S Rajasekhara Reddy himself asking the TTD to check the protocol VIP list, it's high time the TTD implemented the rule for the overall benefit of common pilgrims," an analyst said.
A temple official said there will not be any problem if the protocol VIPs and non-protocol VIPs follow the directive. "Sometimes they come along with an entourage of not less than 100 members, especially during peak days, putting us as well as the common pilgrims to severe hardships," he said.
The list of protocol VIPs includes president, vice-president, prime minister, governors, chief ministers, former presidents, former vice-presidents, ex-PMs, deputy PM, chief justice of India, Lok Sabha Speaker, Union ministers and deputy chairman of the planning commission.
Apart from them, judges of Supreme Court, minister in charge of endowments, former governors, ex-CMs, Speaker and deputy Speaker of the state legislative assembly, chairman and deputy chairman of legislative council and chief justice of AP High Court also form part of the protocol list.
"The problems of common pilgrims can be overcome only when the VIP list is revised and pruned. But it is not an easy task as TTD either directly or indirectly is dependent on various departments for legal, social and economic factors for the overall development of the temple," a former TTD EO said.
Interestingly, when top corporate heads and industry barons come calling to Lord Venkateswara, all rules go for a toss since the TTD mandarins cannot `displease' them, sources said. "Whenever Kingfisher head honcho Vijay Mallya visits the temple, he is accompanied by nearly 50 others. The TTD goes out of its way to provide darshan to him, stalling the general darshan for common pilgrims though he is not a protocol VIP," B V Prabhakar, a regular devotee from Chennai, said.
"TTD would be hit as many development works belonging to the temple either directly or indirectly are dependent on these big shots, whether they are protocol or non-protocol," a senior official of TTD reasoned.
When contacted, TTD executive officer I Yasodha Rama Krishna Rao said that the temple management is working out ways and means to bring about amendments in the VIP protocol list.
"In a month or two we will definitely bring amendments in the darshan system which should ease the waiting period of common pilgrims," he added.
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