The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has refuted allegations made by actress-politician Archana Gautam that its staff demanded a bribe of Rs 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 elections.
“She came with a recommendation letter from the Union Minister of State for seven darshan tickets. Accordingly, they were issued the Rs 300 special darshan tickets for August 31 but they did not avail of it,” the TTD said.
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 Rs 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 Rs 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.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Use AI, Social Media To Spread Sanatana Dharma: Seers At Tirumala Huddle Seers To Discuss Religious Conversion At Mega Summit In Tirupati Temple After 6-Year-Old's Death, TTD To Install 500 CCTV Cameras At Vulnerable Spots Under-Fire Trainee IAS Officer Accuses Pune Collector Of Harassment Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Recalled To Academy, Training Put On Hold Trump's Vice President Pick Reveals How His Hindu Wife Helped Him "Bathroom Slippers": Internet Reacts To Kuwait Store's Rs 1 Lakh "Sandals" Finish Migrant Workers' Ration Card Verification In 1 Month: Court To States Delhi's Maximum Temperature Settles At 38.4 Degrees, Rain Likely Tomorrow Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.