Amaravati: Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) Chief Priest Dr. AV Ramana Deekshitulu, along with other priests, met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the camp office here on Tuesday (April 6th).

The priests presented the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister with Prasadam of Lord Sri Venkateshwara Swamy and thanked him for reinstating the 15 hereditary priests associated with Tirumala Venkateshwara Swamy temple, Tirupati Govindaraja Swamy temple, and Thiruchanur Sri Padmavathi Ammavari temple into the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) fold and for honoring the temple’s ancient tradition.

The YSR Congress Party government led by CM YS Jagan had passed GO No. 76 to restore the hereditary rights of priests in October 2019. However, the order could not be implemented earlier due to various reasons.

After the continuous legal battle in the Andhra Pradesh High Court over the reinstatement, fresh orders were issued by the Andhra Pradesh government and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) management issued orders reinstating all the hereditary priests who were forcibly retired since 2018.

Tirumala temple chief priest Ramana Dikshitulu, the hereditary priests of Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala, Sri Govindaraja Swamy temple in Tirupati, and Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple in Tiruchanur were among the ones who were reinstated as per the fresh orders.