The Opposition YSRCP has blamed the NDA government and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) for the stampede resulting in the deaths of six people and several injured.

Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh too suggested that the TTD should have made better arrangements.
TTD chairman BR Naidu said there were more than 90 counters for token distribution.

Advertisement

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has ordered an inquiry. He will visit the hospital to meet the injured today afternoon.

Although TTD had announced tokrn distribution would begin at 5 am on Thursday, people started thronging from Wednesday evening. A woman had fallen sick and gates were opened briefly to allow her inside but people at the back surged ahead, leading to the stampede.

Former TTD Chairman and ex YSRCP MLA Bhuma Karunakar Reddy slammed the coalition government over the stampede at Vishnu Nivasam, attributing it to administrative failure.

He questioned the lack of proper arrangements for Vaikuntha Ekadashi Darshan, despite knowing that lakhs of devotees would attend. Karunakar Reddy alleged that controversial individuals were given control of TTD, turning it into a political hub. He stated that such incidents had never occurred in the past five years, blaming the current government for neglecting devotees’ safety.

He criticized the TTD Chairman for prioritizing political propaganda over serving devotees and demanded an inquiry into allegations of ticket mismanagement. Claiming there was a lack of coordination among officials he also called for action against the TTD Chairman, local SP, and other responsible officials.

He said the government must take responsibility for this tragedy and apologize to Lord Venkateswara’s devotees.

Former minister for endowments Velampalli Srinivas also criticized the state government for its failure to manage the arrangements during a key religious event at Tirupati. He stated that lakhs of devotees were expected to attend.

Yet, the government neglected to make adequate arrangements, leading to the stampede and tragic deaths. He held the government accountable for the incident, terming the deaths as a result of administrative negligence.