Temples Protection Movement convenor Dr. M V Soundararajan
HYDERABAD, INDIA, February 23, 2017 (Telangana Today): The Temples Protection Movement convenor Dr. M. V. Soundararajan has sought to rebut the criticism that public money was used to purchase the gold ornaments offered to Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala by the Chief Minsiter K. Chandrashekhar Rao, by pointing out that the total of US$745,000 was spent from the Common Good Fund (CGF) of the Endowments department and not from the public exchequer.
In a statement here on Thursday, Dr. Soundararajan argued that the CGF is based on a percentage of Hindu temples’ income and it did not constitute any money from the taxpayer. That the expenses for making the ornaments were met from the CGF were mentioned in a GO No 23 dated 24.2.2015, he pointed out.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had in the past donated crores of rupees to this CGF before bifurcation of the State and 42 per cent of the same fund is now part of the Telangana CGF fund. “If Rs 5 Crore ($745,000) is used to adorn the Lord with ornaments we should not be raising any hue and cry for the same,” He argued.
Source: http://telanganatoday.news/tirumala-donations-were-from-common-good-fund-and-not-from-exchequer-soundararajan