The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has refuted allegations made by actress-politician Archana Gautam that its staff demanded a bribe of ₹10,000 to facilitate her darshan of Lord Venkateswara atop the holy Tirumala Hills.
The TTD alleged that the actress not only misbehaved with its staff but also abused them. “She even manhandled one of our staffers who tried to intervene and pacify her,” the TTD said in a series of tweets on Monday.
The TTD reacted after the actress posted a selfie video wherein she alleged that she was not only denied darshan of the Lord but also the temple staff demanded bribe to facilitate the darshan.
She even sought to lodge a complaint against the TTD staff with the local Two-Town police and wanted the chief minister’s intervention to set things right.
Archana, who acted in a few Hindi and Telugu films, contested unsuccessfully as a Congress candidate in the UP assembly election.
“She came with a recommendation letter from the Union Minister of State for seven darshan tickets. Accordingly, they were issued the ₹300 special darshan tickets for August 31 but they did not avail of it,” the TTD said.
{{/usCountry}}“She came with a recommendation letter from the Union Minister of State for seven darshan tickets. Accordingly, they were issued the ₹300 special darshan tickets for August 31 but they did not avail of it,” the TTD said.
{{/usCountry}}Archana, along with her companion Sivakanth Tiwari, barged into to the TTD additional executive officer’s office and indiscriminately abused the staff. She even hit a staff member, the TTD said.
“The staff once again offered her ₹300 tickets but she refused to take them. She then went to the local police station and complained that the TTD staff misbehaved with her,” the TTD added.
On viewing a video clip taken by the TTD staff, the local inspector of police established that it was the actress who was indeed at fault. Exposed, Archana hastily retreated, the temple said.
“Our staff only told her that she could buy the Srivani darshan ticket for ₹10,500 for September 1. But she alleged that our staff demanded bribe,” the TTD pointed out.
“Archana resorted to a malicious campaign on social media thinking people will believe her because she’s a celebrity. We appeal to devotees not to believe in such false propaganda,” the TTD said.