Trust boards named for AP temples

​Vijayawada: The state government’s action of filling the trust boards of two major temples in the state and nominating chairpersons for some corporation had brought joy in the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), while the same had pushed its ally BJP ranks into gloom.

While the TDP ranks are celebrating the new postings, the BJP leaders feel dejected as their Minister P Manikyala Rao is ignored.

The government had named chairpersons for eight state-level corporations, besides constituting two temple trust boards. The government had also named members for seven corporations which are packed with the TDP leaders. Though delayed, the announcement had come as a joy for the ruling TDP leaders who are celebrating it and greeting the nominees.

The state government had filled the trust boards of the prestigious Kanakadurga Temple in Vijayawada and Satyanarayana Swamy temple at Annavaram. The government had nominated TDP’s senior leader from the city, Yalamanchili Gowranga Babu, as chairman of the Kanakadurga temple, with 13 members, including two from the neighbouring Telangana state.

The government had also constituted the trust board for the Satyanarayana Swamy temple at Annavaram with 13 members without naming its chairman. Interestingly, neither of the temple trust boards have the BJP names though the Endowments Ministry in the state is headed by their leader Manikyala Rao.

The BJP leaders say that their Minister was not even consulted on the constitution of the trust boards for the two temples. “Minister is not even given importance in the State level events of Godavari and Krishna pushkaralu in the past and now the Dasara festival in Vijayawada,” a senior leader of the BJP quipped.

The two temple trust boards are filled with the TDP leaders and not a single name was taken from the ally, BJP. The BJP ranks feel dejected as they were not even considered to be in the trust board of the Satyanarana Swamy temple at Annavaram, though the party has a Minister, one MP and one legislator from the two Godavari districts.

When contacted, a senior leader of the BJP said that the party leadership was not in favour of asking for share in the nominated posts in the State. He further said that the party State president and Visakhapatnam MP Dr K Haribabu had consoled the rank and file of the party not to feel sad about their non-inclusion in the nominations to State corporations.

“TDP leaders say that the BJP government in Delhi and not filled the corporations and had not given any nominated post to BJP at the national level. There is no need for us to feel sad about our non-inclusion in the State bodies,” Haribabu is said to have told the aggrieved leaders of the BJP.