Tirupati makes VIPs 'equal' for God

QUEUE UP: All VIPs will now have to wait in queue like ordinary devotees at Tirupati.

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Tirupati: Newly-wed couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan's celebrity status has been seriously downgraded in the eyes of Lord Venkateshwara.

The actors will be among a host of other VIPs who shall no longer get a special darshan of the lord at Tirupati.

The board governing the temple has decided that there will be no “fast-tracking” for what it terms non-protocol celebrities.

"We have decided that non-government protocol will not be given special treatment," said TTD Executive Officer Ramanat Chatri.

This means all filmstars, business magnates and sportspersons will now be reduced to “mere mortals” like the thousands of others who visit the temple everyday.

So Bachchans, Ambanis, Vijay Mallya, Sachin Tendulkar and others in the pilgrim powerlist will have to fall into line.

And there are more restrictions - no special darshan on Friday, Saturday or Sunday or in the evenings on any other day.

The only good news for celebrities is that the temple authorities will provide security to them. So the new Mrs Bachchan need not worry about getting mobbed.

"She is a celebrity, a former Miss Universe (sic), so we will take care of the security of celebrities,” clarified Chatri.

While some allege inqiury being initiated into the Bachchan family visit to the shrine reeks of politics, devotees are heaving a sigh of relief for not having to wait any longer in serpentine queues for a darshan while celebrities get their way around.

Incidentally, Amitabh Bachcahn is one of the biggest contributors to this temple. Last year alone he donated Rs 51 lakh to the shrine.

So will this decision by temple authorities plug this almost steady flow of cash? Not to worry, says devotees, the Tirumala temple is still the richest in the country.