All of a sudden, the AP government has appointed Sanchita Gajapati Raju as the Chairperson of the MANSAS Trust (Maharaja Alak Narayan Society of Arts and Sciences) in place of TDP leader Ashok Gajapati Raju. The TDP immediately put out its objection saying that Ashok is the rightful hereditary successor for this trust. As per the trust rules, only the male heirs of the Maharaja family should be at the helm of affairs. Incidentally, this trust also runs the affairs of the Rs. 1 lakh crore worth Simhachalam Temple lands located in Vizag city limits.
There are nearly 13,000 acres under MANSAS trust including most sacred and popular Simhachalam temple. Majority of these lands under Vizag city boundaries. Their already high rates are skyrocketing after CM Jaganmohan Reddy’s announcement of Vizag as the Executive Capital of Andhra Pradesh. There are allegations that the YCP has been focusing all its attention on these lands for a long time now. YCP Number 2 leader Vijayasai Reddy, during his numerous visits to Vizag, has gathered all information about Simhachalam lands. Now, TDP says that Ashok Gajapatiraju has been illegally removed as MANSAS Chairman only to remove all hurdles to grab these precious lands.
