TIRUPATI: An incomplete stone idol discarded near Alipiri in Tirupati triggered a political row on Tuesday, with the YSRC accusing the NDA government-appointed Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board of failing to safeguard the sanctity of sacred spaces.
The controversy was raised by former TTD chairman and YSRC spokesperson Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, who alleged that a sacred idol of Lord Maha Vishnu had been found neglected in an unsanctified area near Alipiri. He described the incident as an insult to devotees’ sentiments and a blow to Hindu dharma.
“The idol was found amid faeces, urine and liquor bottles,” Bhumana told reporters, accusing the present TTD board of repeated lapses since B.R. Naidu assumed the chairmanship. He urged Hindu organisations to oppose what he termed ongoing sacrilege and warned that he would continue to raise the issue despite possible legal action.
TTD board members C. Divakar Reddy, G. Bhanu Prakash Reddy, M.S. Raju and Panabaka Lakshmi dismissed the allegations as false, defamatory and politically motivated. They clarified that the statue was not of Lord Maha Vishnu but an incomplete figure of Shaneshwara, discarded years ago after defects were discovered during carving. They explained that the statue had never been consecrated and had been lying in an unused area near Alipiri, which once housed sculptors’ quarters under sthapathi Pattu Kannaiah Chari’s supervision.
Supporting this version, sculptor Guru Swami, son of Kannaiah Chari, said the idol had been carved nearly two decades ago on commission but was abandoned after the patron’s death. “There were defects and the work was never completed,” he said, adding that the face of the idol had not even been sculpted. He recalled that after the 2003 Alipiri blast, sculptors were asked to vacate the premises and the unfinished statue was left behind.
Rejecting these explanations, Bhumana maintained that the idol was that of Lord Vishnu, citing the presence of Shanku and Chakra. “They are threatening to file cases against me for exposing the sacrilege at Alipiri. They claim it is Shani’s idol, but how can an idol with Shanku and Chakra be of Shani, who is depicted with bow and arrows? This is clearly Lord Maha Vishnu’s idol,” he asserted, vowing to continue raising the issue regardless of cases filed against him or even imprisonment.