Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy today visited Tirupati to offer his prayers to the presiding deity, Lord Venkateswara, at the famed Tirumala temple.
On his arrival at the temple's Mahadwaram, the minister was accorded a warm welcome by the temple authorities and the priests. He was then rendered the veda vachanam by the temple's scholars at the Ranganayakula Mandapam.
Following the ashirvachanam ceremony, Reddy was offered teertha prasadam and presented with a laminated photo of Lord Venkateswara by TTD EO K S Jawahar Reddy.
TTD CVSO Gopinath Jatti, Temple Deputy EO Haridranath and various other officials were also present during Reddy's visit.
The minister's visit follows the Ratha Sapthami celebrations at Tirumala, which were held yesterday. Thousands of devotees flocked to the temple to participate in the festival. Although the TTD had provided about 50,000 darshan tickets for the celebrations in adherence with Covid-19 safety guidelines, the actual number of devotees who attended the festivities far surpassed the temple authorities' expectations.
Many eminent politicians often visit the Tirumala temple to offer their prayers to Lord Venkateswara - the MLA-elect of the Dubbaka Assembly constituency, BJP leader M Raghunandan Rao, had
flown down to the temple town immediately after his victory, on November 11, 2020, and had held special prayers on the occasion.