TIRUPATI: Following the announcement of election schedule for the general and assembly elections on Sunday, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTP) which administers the affairs of the ancient abode of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, has decided to impose curbs on recommendation letters of political leaders for VIP darshan tickets till the end of the poll season.Speaking to reporters at Tirumala on Monday, TTD JEO K S Sreenivasa Raju said the temple administration will henceforth not entertain the recommendation letters of elected representatives or ex-elected representatives. “Their reference letters to facilitate VIP break darshan or Arjitha sevas for other devotees will not be entertained till the end of the poll season. This is not new and similar curbs were also imposed in the run-up to the 2014 general elections,” he said.However, the temple administration will entertain the ‘self requisition letters’ of netas as per the prevailing protocol norms at Tirumala, which means if the elected representatives themselves arrive for darshan, TTD will facilitate the same.“The TTD appeals to political leaders to refrain from making any political statements in the vicinity of the temple so as not to affect the sentiments of devotees, besides helping in the upkeep of the divine ambiance of the sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara intact,” Sreenivasa Raju appealed to the netas.

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