Minimise your visits to Tirumala,Vice President Venkaiah Naidu tells VIPs

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged all the dignitaries, leaders and politicians to minimise their visits to the temple town of Tirumala and thereby give scope for common people to worship the deity.

“There is a tremendous increase in the number of devotees thronging the town from all across the globe. If the frequenters can limit their visit to the town to at least once in a year they shall be rendering a great favour to fellow pilgrims,” Mr Naidu told media persons after praying at the hill shrine of Lord Venkateshwara on Tuesday.

Mr Naidu, accompanied by his family, chose to stand in a queue and walk along the Vaikuntam queue complex along with other devotees. This is a departure from usual procedure of constitutional heads and Heads of States of other countries being allowed into the temple through the Mahadwaram, thus surpassing the queue.

“Darshan of the deity should be delightful and gratifying and not exasperating to others at the cost of the comfort of a few individuals,” Mr. Naidu said when asked about using the common entrance.

“I have prayed for the welfare and prosperity of the people of the nation,” Mr Naidu added.

Mr Naidu’s last visit to the temple was in January during the time of Sankranti festival.

Tirumala was the first stop of Mr Naidu soon after he was elected as the Vice President. Accompanied by his daughter Deepa, Mr. Naidu made the Thanksgiving visit to the shrine in August last year.