YS Jagan Backs TTD Priests

Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh assembly and YSR Congress President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy strongly condemned the state government's decision to remove head priest of the Tirumala shrine, Ramana Deekshitulu fixing a retirement age for the priests.

"It is not right to take revenge on the priests for questioning the irregularities and corruption in TTD. Chandrababu's hunger for power was evident once again with the announcement of the head priest. The priests hold the basic rights to serve Lord Venkateshwara Swamy. It is meaningless on the part of the government to announce their retirement without providing the relevant promotions and retirement benefits. Chandrababu is resorting to those things which none of the governments have done. By the grace of God and people's confidence, we will abolish retirement to priests if we come to power. All the decisions taken by Chandrababu in this respect will be cancelled," he tweeted.

Recently, the head priest of the Tirumala shrine, Ramana Deekshitulu alleged that the TTD Board was brazenly violating traditional Hindu scriptural guidelines in a number of aspects.

Under the Chandrababu Naidu government, TTD has become the hub of controversies. Devotees are fuming at the contentious decisions being taken by the TTD board.

Also Read: Devotees Prayed For Ousting Chandrababu Government: Chilkur Priest

The head priest has been served a show cause notice by the Executive Officer of TTD. Responding to this development, the head priest Ramana Deekshitulu observed that the TTD had no authority in the matter.