Tirupati, Jan 9 (IANS): YSR Congress Party leader and former chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Bhumana Karunakar Reddy on Thursday demanded that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu own moral responsibility for the stampede at Tirupati, which claimed lives of six devotees.

The former MLA demanded stern action against the officials concerned and payment of compensation to victims.

He told media persons here that the additional EO, SP, and his subordinates besides the vigilance wing of the TTD should be held responsible and action should be taken against them besides paying Rs 1 crore each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 20 lakh each to the injured.

The incident occurred due to the inefficiency of the administration, which is more inclined towards serving Chandrababu Naidu than Lord Venkateswara which is very evident. Chandrababu Naidu always gives priority to publicity and self-boasting and such an incident was seen during Godavari pushkarams in 2015 which claimed over 30 lives due to his publicity craze, he said.

The TTD official machinery is totally devoted to please the Chief Minister on one hand and to level false allegations against former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party members, Karunakar Reddy said.

The former TTD chairman said that this was not the first time that Vaikunta Ekadasi has come and during YSRCP rule the event passed off peacefully. “It is not lack of coordination but the failure of the system that has led to this incident and people who lost their lives came to see God and the mismanagement of officials has made them and the families suffer,” he added.

Former minister Gudivada Amarnath held the government responsible for the loss of lives in the stampede at Tirupati and termed it a black day in the history of the TTD.

Speaking to the media in Visakhapatnam, Reddy said the incident took place due to the negligence and total failure of the government and TTD. "Vaikunta Ekadasi is the most auspicious occasion as the doors would be opened and devotees would throng to have darshan of the Lord and this has been a practice for decades and it is the bounden duty of the TTD and government to make proper arrangements," he said.

He recalled that during the YSRCP rule, keeping in view the importance of the day and the heavy rush, the Vaikunta Dwaram was kept open for 10 days allowing the devotees to have darshan.

He alleged that the coalition government is more interested in mud-slinging and raking up controversy after controversy starting with the Tirupati Laddu and blaming Jagan Mohan Reddy government, giving no respect to the sanctity and popularity of the holy shrine.