Chinta Mohan to Lead SC Devotees into Tiruchanoor Temple on October 13

Former Union Minister and Congress MP Chinta Mohan will lead a delegation of 33 Scheduled Caste devotees into the Sri Padmavathi Ammavari temple at Tiruchanoor in Tirupati on October 13, marking the centenary of a landmark temple entry movement.

Mr. Mohan, who earlier represented the Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency, said the occasion recalls the legal battle fought by Congress leader C. Rajagopalachari. In 1925, Rajaji appeared before Tirupati Court Judge V. Ramaswami Iyer to secure the acquittal of C. Murugesan, an SC devotee arrested for entering the inner sanctum of the temple.

He said the arguments advanced by Rajaji led to the acquittal, and that the outcome paved the way for Mahatma Gandhi to later lead a group of 33 Dalit devotees into the Tiruchanoor temple. Religious and political leaders have been invited to join the centenary observance.

Separately, Mr. Mohan accused the Election Commission of India of manipulating Lok Sabha elections through Electronic Voting Machines. He demanded a CBI probe against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter deletion and the delimitation exercise.

He noted that Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer had originally introduced delimitation to balance representation between the northern and southern States, and warned that expanding the House beyond 800 seats would damage the social fabric and deepen divisions between the two regions.