Alleged Christian proselytisation atop Tirumala sparks controversy

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The News Minute | October 30, 2014 | 12:25 pm IST A video of Christian missionaries allegedly converting people right outside the main complex of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple has generated debate after it surfaced on YouTube recently. The video shows a man who introduces himself as Sudhir Mondithoka as he videotapes his journey to the top of the hill on which the temple is located while he repeatedly makes some degrading remarks about the presiding deity Lord Venkateswara or Vishnu one of the trinities in the Hindu pantheon together with Brahma and Shiva. According to a report in The Hindu, TTD Executive Officer M.G. Gopal said he would not tolerate any kind of activity which would undermine the religious dignity of the place. Instructions were issued to officials concerned to probe the issue. It may be recalled that a government Order (no.746) prohibits religious conversions and canvassing in favour of other religions atop the temple. The probe is ongoing to see if this video violates the GO. A report in the Deccan Chronicle said that “The pastor Sudhir Mondithoka, who is responsible for the episode and who hails from Hyderabad justified his acts and said he did nothing wrong. The pastor mentioned that 'secular' cops and the vigilance wing sleuths helped him reach Tirumala without any difficulty and also reiterated on Wednesday that none of the security officials told him his deeds were prohibited at Tirumala.” The original video has been removed from YouTube but another video with added annotations can be found here

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