Anantapur, July 22: Anticipating a backlash from the Telugu Desam activists following the detention of their party chief N Chandrababu Naidu and others in Maharashtra, chief minister of that state Ashok Chavan has cancelled his visit to Puttaparthy tomorrow for a darshan of Satya Saibaba.
As soon as the news of Chavan’s arrival to Puttaparthy broke, Telugu Desam party leaders openly threatened to disrupt the programme to pay back for the ill-treatment meted out to their party chief.
Suspecting trouble, the district administration has advised Chavan against visiting Puttaparthy. The chief minister, accordingly, cancelled his trip.
Meanwhile, speaking to Express, a member of the Satya Sai Trust dismissed TV reports that the Trust had advised Chavan to cancel the visit. “The Trust will never issue any advisory to its visiting devotees as it’s not its business. The district administration and other departments concerned will take care of such things,” the trustee clarified.
Meanwhile, at Guntur, TDP leader K Sivaprasada Rao said that Chavan had cancelled his visit since he knew detaining Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders was wrong.
–Agencies