The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday issued an order appointing YSR Congress Party general secretary and chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s maternal uncle YV Subba Reddy as Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board. He will take charge on Saturday.
The order signed by special chief secretary Manmohan Singh scrapped the board constituted by the TDP government. The government also accepted the resignations of Sudha Narayana Murthy, Sugavasi Prasad Babu, Rudraraju Padmaraju, E Peddi Reddy and Dokka Jagannadham, who served as Members of the previous board. The resignations of N Srikrishna and Bodanapu Ashok Reddy, who were Special Invitees, were also accepted.
YV Subba Reddy was elected as MP from Ongole in the 2014 elections. However in the 2019 elections, Jaganmohan Reddy allocated that seat to Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy. While there was talk of sending Subba Reddy to Rajya Sabha, the announcement of the TTD appointment came to light. However, a major controversy erupted on social media suggesting that Reddy was a devout Christian like his nephew Jagan. Posts appeared to say that he is a converted Christian.
Mr Subba Reddy denied the allegations. In an interview to a TV channel, he said that he was a born Hindu will die a Hindu. “This smear campaign hurts me deeply,” he said. He said that he regularly visits Shirdi and Sabarimala. “Those who want to see for themselves can visit my residence either in Hyderabad or in Ongole to see whom I pray,” Subba Reddy said pulling a chain with Sri Venkateswara pendant and showing it to the public.
Setting out his priorities, Subba Reddy told media persons that as a chairman he will ensure that every single penny earned by the temple will be spent judicially. “Priority will be to ensure that a hassle-free darshan is provided to the common devotee,” he said.
However, the transition was not smooth as the outgoing TTD Chairman Putta Sudhakar Yadav who was appointed by the TTD government refused to quit after YSRCP won the elections. He even convened a board meeting which was boycotted by the officers. He tendered his resignation only after the state Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas, on his visit to Tirumala said that he will remove the trust board members with the help of an ordinance. On Friday TTD executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal confirmed that all the 11 members of the board and the chairman have quit.