Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today offered a 11.29 gram diamond nose stud (mukku pudaka) to goddess Kanaka Durga at Vijayawada's Indrakeeladri temple in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister was fulfilling his promise to the deity of presenting ornaments to Her if the Telangana region achieved statehood.
The Andhra Pradesh government accorded a warm welcome to KCR and his family members upon their arrival at the Gannavaram airport. AP Irrigation Minister Devineni Uma Maheshwar Rao and officials welcomed KCR and his entourage comprising Telangana Endowment Minister A Indrakaran Reddy, Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Rajya Sabha MP Keshava Rao and others, amidst tight security. Uma Maheshwar Rao accompanied the Chief Minister till the latter completed the ritual of presenting the nose stud to the goddess by carrying it on his head and participating in special pujas.
KCR along with wife Shobha received traditional silk clothes from the temple priests, and their blessings. The other devotees at the temple showed enormous enthusiasm to see the Telangana Chief Minister in the flesh. Some of the temple priests were seen taking photographs with KCR on the temple premises.
KCR has already offered similar golden ornaments to deities in other places. They include a necklace and a saligram haram to Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, a silver moustache to Kuravi Sri Veerabhadra Swamy, and a crown to Bhadrakali ammavaru in Warangal.