'Only Govinda's name in Tirupati': Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu vows to 'cleanse' TTD

A day after taking over as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu visited the Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala on Thursday. He offered prayers at the temple and vowed to "cleanse" the Tirupati-Tirumala administration. He alleged that there were irregularities in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), a trust that oversees the temple, during the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. The TDP chief said he was committed to eliminating corruption and protecting 'Hindu Dharma' in Tirumala.

"Cleansing in the state will start from Tirumala," he said. "In Tirumala, nothing but the chanting of Govinda's name will be heard. It is not right to desecrate the sacred Tirumala. When you come to Tirumala, you get the feeling of Vaikuntha. There should be no other slogan on Tirumala except Om Namo Venkatesaya. Tirumala has changed for the worse in the last five years."

The chief minister further said that the former state government commercialised the trust. "Prasadam should be of good quality, rates shouldn't be increased and tickets for 'Darshan' should not be sold in the black market," he said, adding that the Jagan administration turned this religious place into the centre of marijuana, liquor, and non-vegetarian food. 

Last year, a controversy erupted after the Jagan government appointed YSRCP's Tirupati MLA Karunakar Reddy Bhumana as the new chairman of the TTD.  

The TDP criticised the move saying Bhumana did not believe in Hinduism. "He did not have any faith in Hinduism. Everybody knows Bhumana has Christian connections," said TDP state secretary Buchi Ram Prasad. The TDP leader said that there was evidence to prove that Bhumana had Christian connections. "In the past, there was a marriage at his residence, which took place completely as per Christian traditions," he added. 

Former Andhra Pradesh chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao also objected to the appointment of Bhumana as the TTD chief. He said it was unfortunate that the TTD trust board chief post had become a political appointment. "Only those with immense faith in the Lord should be appointed as the TTD chairman."