A controversy has broken out over tickets issued by the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation to travellers from Tirupati to the temple town of Tirumala. On the back of the tickets are printed government advertisements about pilgrimage to Haj and Jerusalem.
The BJP and heads of some religious organisation on Friday attacked the Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by carrying information about a state-sponsored pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the back of bus tickets issued to Tirumala devotees.
The government has ordered an inquiry stating that tickets, printed during the previous TDP regime, were not meant for Tirupati. Proselytising is prohibited at Tirumala under the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act as Tirupati is an iconic place of worship for Hindus. 
The bus ticket controversy was sparked after some devotees noticed the advertisements and approached local reporters on Thursday. The ad read: “At cheap rates, with all facilities for Christians, holy trip to Jerusalem. In 4.5 years, 1,082 Christian travellers made the holy Jerusalem trip.”
As criticism mounted, state minister for endowments Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao clarified that the government has ordered a probe into the incident and guilty would be punished. The minister said: “It has come to our notice that the Jerusalem ads were printed behind APSRTC ticket rolls by the TDP government. These were sent to Nellore RTC depot. We will find out how they made it to the Tirupati depot.
BJP leaders, led by former TTD trust board member G Bhanu Prakash Reddy, staged protests at the corporation regional manager’s office in Tirupati and demanded a probe.
Bhanu Prakash said it was unfortunate that the government, which should ensure communal harmony by prohibiting any kind of proselytising at Tirumala as per the established laws under the AP endowments Act, has become a party to the incident. “BJP will intensify agitations if the government does not crack the whip against those involved in the act,” he said.
Visakha Saradha Peetham pontiff, Swami Swaroopanandendra Saraswati, said it was former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy who initiated amendments to prohibit any form of proselytising at Tirumala and other prominent Hindu shrines in the state and called for a probe.
The Christian Pilgrimage to Jerusalem scheme was introduced in 2004 when Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was the chief minister. The scheme provides more than Rs 40,000 as subsidy to pilgrims. Telangana too has a similar scheme.
Jaganmohan Reddy is an adherent of Christianity much like his father (Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy) and his grandfather (Y. S. Raja Reddy) and is a communicant member of the Church of South India (Diocese of Rayalaseema) and attends the CSI-Town Church, Pulivendula.
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It is sad that in 2019 Indian politics is still plagues by religious sentiments due to michiefs created against the Hindus whether any Bollywood storyline make them look villains, or depicting a poor Muslim etc. I have been to Tirupati twice and can wholehearteldy say that any devout Hindu will be aghast to see such adverts on the back of the tickets. It is clear this was done deliberately to incite divisions in otherwise harmoniuous relations