BJP demands probe, action against guilty

Tirupati: The Jerusalem pilgrimage advertisement on APSRTC tickets which kicked off a row nationwide took an interesting turn with the ruling YSR Congress Party turning the tables on TDP. BJP which was quick to pick up the row to attack Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy also missed the target much to its embarrassment.

However, a delegation of BJP leaders met the RTC officials at the regional office here on Friday seeking a probe into the issue and stern action against those found responsible for it. State RTC authorities perturbed over the furore following the Tirumala ticket issue announced an enquiry into it and also suitable action for the lapse.

It all started with a devotee who found the advertisement on Jerusalem pilgrimage on the back of the RTC ticket issued to him at a counter in Tirumala immediately complained to the staff and objected the issuing of the tickets carrying other religious propaganda at Tirumala, a holy place for Hindus across the globe and where other religious propaganda was banned.

Even as the RTC staff at the counter was busy with contacting the higher authorities informing the devotee objection and seeking their guidance for continuing the issuance of the ticket with Jerusalem pilgrimage advertisement, it became a hot topic of discussion at the bus station among the pilgrims.

The electronic media which also got the information from devotees on the controversial RTC ticket, took no time to telecast it with remarks from adversaries like BJP leaders who smelt a conspiracy behind the advertisement and also suspected the hand of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan adding spice to the reports going viral all over the country shocking devout Hindus and also panicking the ruling party and RTC authorities.

In the meanwhile, RTC higher authorities immediately ordered to stop the issuing the tickets with Jerusalem pilgrimage ad and hurriedly withdrew the tin rolls of the tickets carrying the ad from the counter. APSRTC Tirumala Depot Manager Giridhar Reddy clarified that the advertisements were found in five tin rolls (tickets) which came from Nellore RTC Office.

As the rolls were in a sealed cover, there was no scope for verifying them to find the advertisement resulting in the issuance of the tickets to the devotees at a counter at Tirumala but were stopped immediately after coming to know it from a devotee, Reddy said adding that the verification of all the rolls of tickets is being taken up to ensure that there is no such advertisement on the tickets with RTC Tirumala depot.

However, the clarification by neither the RTC authorities nor the withdrawing of the issuing of Jerusalem ad RTC tickets failed to stop the Opposition from attacking the ruling YSR Congress Party.

Interestingly, RTC authorities revealed that the tickets were printed 4-5 months back hinting that it was during the previous TDP regime which had taken up an aggressive propaganda through RTC tickets including Jerusalem pilgrimage ad to woo the members of minority Christians giving much needed relief to the ruling party. But it neither failed to quell the raging controversy nor the Opposition's virulent attack on the government.