BJP objects to TTD board of businessmen, politicians

The Chittoor unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday warned the YS Jaganmohan Reddy government to rehash the newly constituted Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams or face protests. The BJP wants the government to remove questionable personalities and politically unemployed members from the 28 member board (including ex-officio members) and seven special invitees.

The YS Jaganmohan Reddy government on Thursday appointed seven special invitees and on Wednesday constituted the full body of the trust board.

Addressing a press conference in Tirupati, G Bhanu Prakash Reddy, former TTD Board member and BJP leader wondered why the government has opted for a jumbo board. “If Jagan wanted to have a huge board, he should have done it in his own temple, not in TTD,” he said. He said that TTD should not be filled with politically unemployed people. “There are a lot of people with a good track record and faith in the Lord,” he added.

The special invitees nominated by the government include Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, (Tirupati YSRCP MLA), MP Rakesh Sinha (Delhi), AJ Sekhar (Chennai), K. Upender Reddy (Bengaluru), Govinda Hari (Hyderabad), Dusmanth Kumar Das (Bhubaneswar) and Amol Kale (Mumbai).

The nomination of AJ Sekhar attracted criticism from political circles. Known as Sekhar Reddy, the Chennai man was caught with a huge stash of Rs 2000 currency notes during the demonetisation period. The then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu removed him from the trust board immediately. Sekhar was reportedly acquitted of all charges.

India Cements chairman and BCCI former chief, Narayanaswami Srinivasan, KCR’s relative and My Home Group chairman Jupally Rameswara Rao and four MLAs in the board. Srinivasan had appeared in court in the disproportionate assets case against YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

“Politicisation and Commercialisation is destroying Tirumala worship which is Kaliyuga Vaikuntam for us. We have been fighting that the temple trust boards must remain with the devotional people”, said Temples Protection Movement convener CS Rangarajan, in a statement released here.

Let the other states reciprocate

All India Brahmin Federation vice-president Dronamraju Ravi Kumar demanded the state government secure nominations for the Telugu people from famous temples in other states. The new board disappointed us the amended Act allowed the government to increase the number of members in the trust board. “Will any other state appoint us as board members in their famous temples, say Bhadrachalam or Srirangam?”, he wanted to know.