Tirupati, Dec 10 (ANI): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the wee hours on Wednesday offered prayers at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple with his family in the revered Hindu temple town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh amid tight security. Rajapaksa was in the temple for about an hour, participating in the ‘Suprabhatam' recitation ritual conducted by a group of priests inside the temple. Police had made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward incident, as some of the political parties in neighbouring Tamil Nadu state are hostile to the leader due to ethnic Tamil issues in the island nation. Reportedly, Rajapaksa is visiting the temple on the advice of his astrologers which would help him win the Presidential poll in Sri Lanka scheduled for January 08, 2015. Thereafter, the Sri Lankan president left for airport ending his visit to India. Meanwhile, MDMK supporters staged protest and shouted slogans in Tirupati against Rajapaksa’s visit.
