Tirupati, India - The Andhra Pradesh Government officials on Monday dismissed the reports of conversions of Hindus being carried out at Tirupati and the surrounding township.
Asserting that there was no evidence to prove the allegations, State Minister J.C Diwakar Reddy told a news conference in Hyderabad that the government would not sit silent on "non-Hindu religion campaigning in Tirumala in the future also".
Vishwesha Theertha, Swami of the Pejawar Mutt, who had led the meeting with Reddy, said fears were rife over anti-Hindu elements gaining clout in the region but had no clear statistics over the number of conversions.
"I have expressed that the elements opposed to Hindus have penetrated our temples. I don't know how many conversions have taken place but we know the efforts are on...it cannot be tolerated," Swami said in Bangalore earlier today.
A grouping of Hindu seers had last week claimed they had received complaints of devotees facing a conversion onslaught allegedly by Christian missionaries.
Top government officials have since been probing the matter and held a series of meetings to pacify the enraged holymen, who have given the government a checklist on preventing such aberrations.
Tirupati is the most venerated shrine of Lord Venkateswara, an incarnation of the Hindu God of perseverance, Vishnu. Standing atop an 860 m high peak, the temple's dome is made in pure gold and its doors are finely crafted in silver.
Said to be amongst the busiest in the world, Tirupati matches Rome, Jerusalem and Mecca in terms of the number of pilgrims visiting it.