Tirumala Denies Congressman Offered Chopped Finger at the Temple

I have no regrets: Congress worker who cut off finger allegedly for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

Suresh K claims he cut off his finger for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Suresh K, the Congress worker who claims he cut off his little finger for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, says he has no regrets.

Last week, the 35-year-old businessman from a village in Ramnagara district in southern Karnataka made headlines for claiming that he cut off a portion of his little finger and offered it in a hundi at the Tirupati temple.

Tirumala Denies ‘Ugly Offering’

Suresh owns a granite business in Chamrajnagar district. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Suresh says that that on 25 December, he offered a portion of his little finger to the deity in Tirupati as a harake (vow) if Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi were granted bail in the National Herald case.

The owner of a granite business in Chamrajnagar district, Suresh is married and has two children – a boy and a girl. Currently, he shuttles between Chamrajnagar and Mandya from his house in Jaipura, a village in Ramnagara district.

“I did not tell anyone what I had done this. But a week later, people found out and told Anna (Ambareesh) and he called me. He told me I should have made some other offering, and not cut off my finger,” Suresh said, referring to his meeting on Saturday with Sandalwood actor and Karnataka Minister for Housing MH Ambareesh in Mandya.

Asked if he had any regrets after the admonishment by Ambareesh, Suresh said: “I did what I did with devotion to god. Let good things happen to our leaders. I don’t regret what I did, I don’t think it was wrong.”

On Monday however, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) denied that the temple has never had such an “ugly offering” in its history.

<p> Media reports of the cut finger being dropped in the sacred hundi of the over 2000-year-old richest hill temple in the country by a man hailing from Ramanagaram near Bangalore recently is completely baseless,</p>

<b> Chinnamgari Ramana, Deputy Executive Officer of the TTD to PTI</b>

The perception of such acts and such reports was not correct as that would hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees across the world, he said.

Ramana said that several surveillance cameras record the practice of the seven-feet hundi being emptied at least thrice daily for segregation, counting and recording of offerings, including huge cash and gold ornaments by devotees.

Asked about this, Suresh said: “I think they neglected (me).” He maintained that he did indeed make the offering.

‘I Did it For Gandhis’

Suresh says he has been a supporter of the Congress since he was around 15 years old.

“I’ve been supporting the Congress since I was in SSLC or PUC. I’ve been a follower of Sachidananda, who is an associate of Ambareesh.”

<p> We were all very scared (over the bail application). We didn’t know what would happen. I wanted it to be a special gift (to god). There was no time to think of anything, there was just one hour (for the court order to be delivered).</p>

<b>Suresh, Congress Worker</b>

Once the top two leaders of the party got bail, he says he went to Tirupati where he stayed for two days.

<p> I booked a room and cut off a portion with a blade. Then I got my hand bandaged and a day later, I went to the temple. I packed my finger and some money separately and went to the temple and put it in the hundi.</p>

<b> Suresh, Congress Worker</b>

(Anisha Sheth works with The News Minute)