Allegations and counter-allegations over the Tirumala temple administration dominated the campaigns in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.
| Photo Credit: File photo
The year 2024 saw Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the governing body of the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala, being marred by several controversies.
The TTD, among the richest temple trust boards in the world, was caught in the crossfire of political rivalries in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, with then ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Opposition using issues related to the functioning of temple administration during their campaigns. Allegations and counter-allegations dominated the narratives.
The most contentious issue that dominated the election campaigns was the alleged embezzlement of the funds belonging to the SriVani Trust which generates a revenue of around ₹570 crore annually through the sale of darshan tickets.
Though the allegations of fund diversion were later deemed misleading, the damage caused is believed to be one of the contributing factors that led to the downfall of the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
The allegations of poor quality food served to devotees as part of the Nitya Annadanam scheme and compromising of temple norms added fuel to the fire.
After the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) returned to power, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu vowed to restore the TTD’s sanctity, pledging to ‘cleanse the entire administrative system’ and protect devotees’ sentiments.
However, the image of the TTD suffered a setback due to the allegations related to the use of ghee adulterated with animal fat in the making of laddus and other prasadams.
The allegations made by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu sparked a nationwide outrage, prompting the Supreme Court to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Andhra Pradesh police, and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to probe the issue.
The move temporarily sidelined a State-led probe, underlining the gravity of the allegations.
Meanwhile, the TTD blacklisted A.R. Dairy Food Private Limited, the accused ghee supplier, and performed purification rituals inside the hill shrine. A ‘Shanti Homam was also performed as an act of atonement, assuaging the concerns of the devotees.
The TTD faced yet another setback with allegations of corruption in the allocating contracts for engineering works, involving kickbacks worth several crores of rupees. The public outrage led the State government to dispatch a 200-member investigation team, though their findings are yet to be made public.
Parakamani row
Adding to the institution’s woes was the resurfacing of an old case of Parakamani (temple treasury) theft. The scandal, allegedly involving crores siphoned from the temple’s Hundi, resurfaced after TDP MLC B. Ramgopal Reddy demanded a probe and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay and TTD board member G. Bhanuprakash Reddy demanding a thorough investigation.
While so, the turbulent 2024 also brought significant milestones for the TTD. For the first time, the temple’s annual budget crossed ₹5,000 crore, reflecting its growing financial prowess.
Silver lining
The institution also played a pivotal role in national religious events and dispatched one lakh laddus to Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) expressed willingness to assist the TTD in renovating the ancient structures in Tirumala and Tirupati.
On the administrative front, the TTD allotted house sites to over 6,000 employees, raised wages for 9,750 contract and outsourced workers, and introduced measures to streamline darshan lines, including exploring the feasibility of espousing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in providing a faster darshan to the devotees.
Published – December 29, 2024 05:16 am IST
