New Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam board holds first meeting amid laddu controversy

Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh):

The first meeting of the newly constituted Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board was held at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala on Monday.

According to sources, the meeting is going to cover 80 agenda items, with TTD Chairman BR Naidu going to announce the decisions taken in the afternoon. Some members attended the meeting virtually.

Earlier this month, BR Naidu took oath as the 54th Chairman of the TTD Board of Trustees. The ceremony took place at the Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple, where TTD executive officer Shyamala Rao administered the oath. After the ceremony, Shri Naidu had darshan of Varaha Swami and then visited the temple from Vaikuntam queue complex. After the darshan of Lord Venkateswara, the priests blessed the Ranganayakula Mandapam with Vedic chants.

Shri Naidu expressed his intention to serve the temple with dedication and selflessness. His appointment comes after the Tirupati Prasadam controversy that erupted last month. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu accused the previous YSRCP government of using substandard ingredients, including animal fat, in the preparation of Tirupati Laddu.

To address these allegations, the Supreme Court intervened on October 4, forming an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the use of animal fat in laddus. The court emphasized that “the sentiments of crores of devotees across the world are attached to Tirumala Prasadam,” and said, “We do not want this to turn into a political drama.” The SIT will include two officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), two officers from Andhra Pradesh Police and a senior officer from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The court had then said that the new SIT would be supervised by the CBI director and would replace the team appointed by the previous state government.