The Uttara Dwara (North Gate) entry and darshan of the deity in Vaishnava temples is allowed on Vaikunta, also known as Mukkoti Ekadasi, a day considered highly auspicious by Hindus. Traditionally, the TTD allowed the darshan for two days: Ekadasi and Dwadasi.
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But in December 2020, the TTD board led by Y.V. Subba Reddy, uncle of YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, extended the darshan period to 10 days, citing consultations with religious scholars and spiritual leaders across the country. The board said it made the decision to ease crowd pressure and allow more devotees.
But the extension faced severe criticism, with then opposition leaders saying it was an arbitrary alteration of traditions that reduced the significance of the celestial event.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu inspected the stampede site and reiterated his opposition to the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam. “Altering age-old traditions is not good. Issuing Vaikunta darshan tokens in Tirupati is also a new practice,” Naidu said.
The opposition YSRCP seized the opportunity to target the ruling TDP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition over the stampede, questioning its continuation of the decisions it had previously opposed.
YSRCP’s Bhumana Karunakar Reddy questioned the TDP and allies for maintaining the “so-called controversial schemes, procedures after having targeted the YSRCP over the same when in opposition”.
“The 10-day Vaikunta Dwara darshan is followed in the renowned Srirangam temple in Tamil Nadu. If it is objectionable in Tirumala, why is it not being discontinued now?” Bhumana told ThePrint. “They know it would draw the devotees’ ire.”
“Political accusations were made for electoral benefits, but the present regime cannot cancel the SRIVANI Trust too which has aided the construction and rejuvenation of hundreds of Hindu temples.”
Despite the opposition, the darshan is being held for 10 days this time too at the temple.
SRIVANI donations, accounts
Another legacy of the previous administration that has come under fire is the revival of the Sri Venkateswara Aalayala Nirmanam Trust (SRIVANI).
The trust facilitates VIP Break Darshan services to devotees, without requiring letters of recommendation from ministers or legislators. The move was also intended to eradicate touts fleecing pilgrims for the coveted early morning darshan that allows a much closer view of the deity inside the sanctum than the Rs 300 special darshan ticket.
To avail of this privilege, devotees have to donate Rs 10,000 to the SRIVANI Trust formed for the construction and rejuvenation of Hindu temples, especially in areas prone to religious conversions like Scheduled Caste colonies and fishermen’s habitats. The devotee can then buy one VIP darshan ticket for Rs 500, the same amount as tickets secured through recommendation letters.
When in opposition, TDP and JSP leaders, including Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, alleged embezzlement and fund diversions from the SRIVANI Trust, claiming that donations were being collected from devotees without issuing receipts. Both said that those misusing Lord Venkateswara’s wealth would face divine punishment.
Though the TTD released a white paper in June 2023, refuting the allegations and providing an account of donations received by the SRIVANI Trust and allocations made for various temples, TDP leaders continued their criticism during and after the polls that brought Naidu back to power in June.
In mid-June, after Naidu assumed charge as chief minister, TDP spokesperson Neelayapalem Vijay Kumar questioned what he described as “discrepancies” between the white paper and figures posted on the website of project executor Samarasata Seva, which listed lower costs for each temple and “lacked updated financial records after 2020”.
Kumar said while the white paper claimed construction of 2,273 temples, with Rs 10 lakh allocated per temple, the NGO mentioned Rs 5 lakh per temple.
While questioning the doubling of funds per temple, Kumar also criticised the decision to form a new SRIVANI Trust when earlier TDP governments managed with funds from the TTD general account.
Although the first meeting of the reconstituted TTD board, held in November under new chairman B.R. Naidu, decided to “merge the SRIVANI Trust into the TTD account and explore the possibility of changing the name while continuing the scheme”, a TTD official said the board has not taken any visible action yet.
The trust reportedly holds around Rs 1,400 crore funds which are said to be temporarily locked under the Naidu government, because of the controversy. With 1,500 tickets issued daily, SRIVANI earns about Rs 1.5 crore a day.
News reports suggest the TTD board and officials are in a fix over effecting changes to the SRIVANI Trust, including a name change, as a panel of chartered accountants formed by it has warned of a potential financial burden of 30-40 percent taxes, including GST, payable to the Centre.
“Yes, the decision could not be implemented because of the tax liability issues pointed out by the expert panel,” TTD board member Bhanu Prakash Reddy told ThePrint.
TTD chairman B.R. Naidu and Executive Officer Syamala Rao did not respond to ThePrint’s calls or WhatsApp messages asking for comment on the status of the SRIVANI Trust to get clarity on the accounts into which the Rs 10,000 donations are being directed now. The report will be updated when a response is received.
“The TDP and JSP leaders alleged funds mismanagement during the YSRCP regime and lack of accountability. Has the present government ordered any inquiry? If yes, has any misdeed been revealed?” asked former AP chief secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, who earlier served as TTD EO.
The SRIVANI Trust matter has become a bone of contention between B.R. Naidu and Syamala Rao and was revealed in their heated argument in the presence of an aghast Naidu on Thursday during the review meeting on the stampede, according to a source present there.
Row over pilgrim complex ‘
Meanwhile, the massive Padmavathi Nilayam pilgrim amenities complex at Tiruchanur, built by the TTD with Rs 75 crore pilgrim-donated funds near the Tirupati airport, continues to serve as the Tirupati district collectorate.
In 2022, Andhra Pradesh BJP leader Bhanu Prakash Reddy, who was a TTD board member during the previous NDA government, challenged the conversion of the pilgrim accommodation complex for government use in the high court, while expressing concern over TTD funds being diverted and misused.
“I have raised my dissent over the continuing use as a collectorate in recent board meetings, too. The board appears disinclined to retrieve it but I will persist,” Bhanu Prakash, who again became a member of the board last year, told ThePrint.
“Though the building was leased, the Rs 21 lakh rent per month is not being paid by the state government to the TTD and arrears have mounted to over Rs 5 crore,” Reddy said, adding that even maintenance costs running into lakhs per month are being borne by the temple board.
“It is wrong for the present regime to continue occupying the Padmavathi Nilayam built for pilgrim use, more so when it flagged it as an irreverent decision while in opposition,” Krishna Rao said.
Another point of contention is the appointment of central service officers to TTD management. While the appointment of Dharma Reddy, an Indian Defence Estate Services officer, as the joint EO and later EO by Jagan was censured by the then opposition, the Naidu government last year brought in Venkaiah Chowdary, an Indian Revenue Service officer, as additional EO in the TTD.
Following the stampede, YSRCP leaders targeted Chowdary, calling for his punishment. Chowdary is a Kamma, the same caste as Naidu, while Dharma is a Reddy like Jagan.
“It was AP IAS officers, senior state service officers conferred IAS, put in TTD top management earlier. The deviations, under the previous and present regimes, are wrong, flouting earlier rules and norms,” Krishna Rao says.
A senior TDP leader, who spoke publicly on some of the above issues when Jagan was chief minister, told ThePrint, “It is embarrassing for me and others like me in the party, to see the same controversial decisions continued or taken under our government.”
“Yes, we went to the public on various issues related to the TTD and the Tirumala temple, a highly emotive religious matter in Andhra Pradesh. Hope some corrective actions will be taken soon,” said the leader.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
