Andhra govt appoints TTD Board

Ignoring objections by some pro-Hindu groups, the Andhra Pradesh government today appointed controversial businessman Putta Sudhakara Yadav as Chairman of TTD Board, which administers among others the famous Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala.

The government constituted the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board with Chairman and 17 other members, who include an MP, five MLAs and three bureaucrats.

The three senior IAS officers including TTD Executive Officer AK Singhal would be the ex-officio members on the board, TTD sources said in Tirupati.

According to an order issued by Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) D Sambasiva Rao, the term of the Board will be for two years.

The TTD board governs the cash-rich hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala near Tirupati among others.

Sudhakara Yadav, who hails from Kadapa, is a close relative of state Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu.

Some pro-Hindu groups had opposed any move to appoint Yadav accusing him of being a campaigner for various Christian events. They had also posted pictures and video clips in the social media to support their claim.

Yadav, however, has rejected the allegations and maintained that he is a Hindu.

Among others, the newly-constituted TTD Board included Narsaraopet MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and philanthropist Sudha Narayana Murthy, wife of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy.

Controversial MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, who is facing charges of land-grabbing, has also been made a member of the TTD Board.