Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today offered ‘bangaru meesalu’ (gold moustache) to Kuravi Veerabhadra Swamy temple in Mahabubabad district.
Rao arrived at the temple along with his family and offered the ‘gold moustache’ worth Rs 60,000 to the temple’s presiding deity.
Two days ago, Rao had made a offering of gold ornaments worth a staggering Rs 5 crore to Lord Venkateswara in Tirupati, inviting criticism from the opposition over “misuse” of public funds.
He had donated the jewellery at the famous hill shrine to express his gratitude to the Lord for materialising Telangana, the state for whose creation the TRS leader waged a prolonged movement.
The chief minister was said to have taken a vow to make the offering following fulfilment of his dream of a separate Telangana state.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh in June last year had slammed the Telangana government for splashing public money on celebrations of two years in power and called the chief minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao, another Nero.
In a series of tweets, Singh said, “KCR celebrating and putting huge ads worth 100s of crores. Another Nero in the celebration mode when poor people are dying. Shame on you KCR!”
KCR’s decision to offer gold with public money has evoked social media reactions. Below are some of the tweets by prominent people and journalists.