BJP demands disbandment of Tirupati temple board

"The state government should first make public the probe report of Vigilance department into the allegations of sale of tickets for 'arjita sevas' (paid rituals) in the black market. Media reports say that TTD board members and employees of TTD have colluded in this regard," senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here.

Though the term of the present board comes to an end on August 24, the government should disband it immediately and appoint honest, apolitical persons with knowledge of temple architecture and spiritual practices as its members, he said.

Due to the corruption and irregularities in the TTD, the governing body of the Balaji temple at Tirupati, darshan of the Lord has become difficult for ordinary devotees, the BJP leader alleged.

He also demanded that the government cancel the notification given for land transfer from Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) to Emaar Properties in 2002 in view of the so-called scam over the issue.

The land transfer hit the headlines after senior Congress MLA D L Ravindra Reddy alleged a Rs 10,000 scam in the matter. All opposition parties asked the government to come clean over the alleged scam.