BR Naidu appointed chairman of Tirupati temple board amid laddu row

BR Naidu, founder of the Telugu TV channel, TV5, has been appointed the chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the board which oversees the affairs of the Tirupati temple.

In Short

• Tirupati temple board comprises 23 members and the chairman
• New chairman BR Naidu thanks Andhra government for appointing him
• Move comes amid row alleged presence of animal fat in Tirupati laddus

The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday appointed BR Naidu as the chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the board which oversees the affairs of Tirumala temple in Tirupati, and 23 members. This comes amid a huge controversy over the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati laddus.

BR Naidu is the founder of the Telugu TV channel, TV5. His appointment is seen as a strategic move to bring in a leader with a strong public profile and administrative acumen to manage the affairs of the TTD, which has been without a governing body for an extended period.

The new trust board, announced by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, includes a diverse range of members to ensure comprehensive representation. The board comprises several MLAs from Andhra Pradesh. Notable members include Jyotula Nehru (Jaggampeta MLA), Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy (Kovuru MLA) and MS Raju (Madakasira MLA).

Other members include Panabaka Lakshmi, a former Union Minister, former Chief Justice of India Justice HL Dattu and Bharat Biotech Managing Director Suchitra Ella.

Following his appointment, BR Naidu thanked Chandrababu Naidu, his deputy and actor-politician Pawan Kalyan in a tweet.

"I am thankful to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for appointing me as the Chairman of the trust board of Tirumala and Tirupati Devasthanas. Heartfelt thanks to Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Konidela Pawan Kalyan and State Education Minister Nara Lokesh," he wrote in Telugu.

Here is the full list of the 24 members of the TTD board:

BR Naidu (Chairman), Prashanthi Reddy, MS Raju, Jyothula Nehru, Panabaka Lakshmi, Sambasiva Rao, Narsi Reddy, Sadashiva Rao Nannapaneni, Mallela Rajasekhar Goud, Suchitra Ella, Krishna Murthy, Janga Krishnamurthy, Koteshwar Rao, Buragapu Anandasai, Shantharam, Naresh Kumar, Saurabh H Bora, Darshan RN, Justice HL Dattu, P Ramoorthy, Adit Desai, Boongunuru Mahender Reddy, Janaki Devi Tammishetty and Anugolu Rangasri.

MOVE COMES AMID TIRUPATI LADDU ROW

The appointment of the new TTD board comes close on the heels of the row over the alleged use of animal fat in the preparation of the famous Tirupati laddus.

On September 18, Chandrababu Naidu claimed that ghee adulterated with animal fat was used to prepare Tirupati laddus which are offered as prasad to the devotees, when the previous YSR Congress regime was in power, triggering a massive row.

The YSR Congress rejected the claims and accused the Chief Minister of tarnishing the temple's sanctity.

The state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the claims. But, the Supreme Court paused the SIT probe and ordered a CBI-monitored investigation to probe the matter.

The top court also came down heavily on Chandrababu Naidu for going public with allegations without conclusive proof.