Tirupati, June 16 (IANS) Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal offered prayers at Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala near here on Monday.

Accompanied by his family members, he had divine darshan of Lord Venkateswara.

The Union Minister was accorded a warm welcome by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Chairman B.R. Naidu, Additional Executive Officer Venkaiah Chowdary and temple priests who escorted him to the sanctum sanctorum.

Inside the sanctum sanctorum, priests of Tirumala temple explained to the Union Minister about the significance of the jewels adorning the presiding deity.

The Union Minister spent a few minutes praying before Lord Venkateswara and later reached Ranganayaka Mandapam where he was accorded Vedasirvachanam by temple priests.

“I offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara, seeking blessings for the nation’s progress and societal well-being. I prayed for the success of the central government’s initiatives towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’ and for India to emerge as a Vishwaguru,” said Piyush Goyal.

TTD Chairman and Additional EO offered the Minister the Lord’s silk vastram, prasadams and lamination image of Lord Venkateswara.

Andhra Pradesh Ministers Anagani Satya Prasad, T.G. Bharat, Board Members Dr Panabaka Lakshmi, Janga Krishnamurthy, M. Santharam, Naresh Kumar, G. Bhanuprakash Reddy, Temple Deputy EO Lokanadham and others were present.

Piyush Goyal is on a two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh. He arrived in Amaravati on Sunday, where he met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

They discussed the challenges faced by farmers growing commercial crops and those involved in aquaculture.

The two leaders discussed issues such as procurement of HD Burley tobacco, reduction of import duty on crude palm oil, tariffs imposed by the US on aqua exports, and GST reduction on mango pulp.

Chandrababu Naidu explained the current situation in the state and the hardships being faced by farmers. He also informed the Union Minister about the steps being taken by the state government to address these issues and sought the Centre’s cooperation.

–IANS

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