Denied VIP darshan, UP actress raises storm accusing TTD of exploitation

HYDERABAD: Model and UP actress Archana Gautam accused the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) of denying her a VIP darshan of Lord Srivenkateswara and ill-treatment by its staff. She posted a video on Twitter, asking the Andhra Pradesh government to take action over the incident which happened during her visit to the famous hill shrine on Thursday last.

Besides her anguish over the alleged ill-treatment, she was largely upset with the denial of a VIP darshan. In a tweet, she alleged that she was not only refused the VIP darshan but was also asked to pay Rs 10,500 to avail off another protocol for the same privilege. Though the TTD has not officially responded to it, sources within the quasi-government board said that it was the actress who attacked the TTD staff. They claimed that the actress missed the darshan on the date it was booked for.

The sources said that she wanted to avail off the VIP darshan on the next day, which, they said, was not possible as the rules won't permit that.

The issue came to light when Archana posted a video on Twitter of her arguing with staff members at the office of the Joint Executive Officer (JEO) of TTD for not allowing the VIP darshan. She asserts that she was denied the darshan despite having paid for it.

In addition, Archana Gautam expressed her concern with the way the TTD staff treated her throughout her visit. She even alleged that the JEO office staff members attempted to physically assault her. In the video she posted on social media, it was evident that she had been prevented from taking a selfie video by the JEO staff.

Despite the fact that the incident happened on Thursday, actress Archana tweeted about it on Monday, a good four days later. "Hindu religious temples in India have become centres of exploitation," she tweeted in Hindi. She further said that Rs 10,500 had been charged by TTD in the name of VIP Darshan. She requested that this type of' robbery' be stopped. She also urged the AP government to punish those who mistreated her.

According to TTD sources, she missed her VIP darshan on Wednesday and arrived for darshan on Thursday. When the JEO staff informed her that she had missed her VIP darshan and that it would not be possible the next day, she became furious and argued with them. The staff there then suggested to her to pay Rs 10,500 for a fresh VIP darshan, which only fuelled her anger further, they added.

According to the TTD officials, VIP darshan, which was previously only available to VIPs, has now been made available to the general public for a donation of Rs 10,500 under Protocol darshan. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) established the Sri Venkateswara Alaya Nirmana Trust (Srivani) in 2019 to provide VIP Break Darshan privileges to trust donors who pay Rs 10,500.

Archana Gautam, a model and actress, contested on behalf of the Congress from the Hastinapur district in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2022. She was one of the eight contenders for this seat.