On February 22, Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao presented jewellery to Lord Venkateswara Swamy in Tirumala Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The amount spent on the jewellery is a whopping Rs 5.59 crore. Since the news broke out, KCR is being criticised for taking the huge amount from public exchequer to fulfil his own personal commitment.
Rao reached the temple with his family members including wife, son KT Rama Rao,—who is also a minister—daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law and grandchildren. He offered Saligarama Haram a necklace with the lotus design, weighing around 15 kg and five-row carcanet that weighed 4.65 kg.
This is his first visit to the temple since the bifurcation of the state took place in the year 2014. After the offering, the priest of the temple gave Rao a silk shawl. He also paid a visit to Sri Padmavathi in Tiruchanur where he made a gold offering as well. As per some reports, he is expected to offer a gold moustache at the Veerabhadraswamy Temple in Kuravi in coming days.
The offering from the Chief Minister was fulfilling the vow that he took if Telangana became a separate state. Ministers A. Indrakaran Reddy, E. Rajender, Chief Advisor to Government Rajiv Sharma also accompanied the CM to the temple.
This is not the first time that KCR has offered expensive ornaments to a temple. Last year in October, Rao had given a 12 kg gold crown worth Rs 3.5 crore to Goddess Bhadrakali in Warangal. He offered a crown and necklace to Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala and in Vijaywada, he offered a nose stud to Goddess Kanaka Durga.
