The Andhra Pradesh government reappointed Y V Subba Reddy, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy's uncle, as the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Board on Sunday, August 8, ending a lot of speculation over his future. Subba Reddy, a former Member of Parliament, served as TTD Board Chairman for a two-year term till June this year. Speculation had been rife that he would be either sent to the Rajya Sabha next year or made a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council and inducted into the state Cabinet. Though some other names did the rounds for the coveted TTD Chairman post, the Chief Minister finally relied on his uncle, sources in the ruling YSR Congress Party told PTI.
Accordingly, Principal Secretary (Revenue-Endowments) G Vani Mohan issued a formal order constituting the TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) Board with Subba Reddy as Chairman as per the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987. The other members would be appointed shortly, the Principal Secretary said in the order.
Subba Reddy was first appointed as the chairman of the TTD Board chairman on June 21,2019, soon after the YSRCP government came to power. His appointment was preceded by controversy, with many people suggesting that Subba Reddy, like Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, followed the Christian faith. Denying the rumours, Subba Reddy had said that he was “born a Hindu and will die a Hindu”, adding that the smear campaign had hurt him deeply. Prior to his appointment back in 2019, Subba Reddy had said that CM Jagan had put in a request asking him to serve as the TTD Board Chairman and later go to the Rajya Sabha.
The previous TTD Board included prominent names including former Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) President & Indian Cements MD N Srinivasan, Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty, My Home Group Chairman and prominent industrialist Rameshwar Rao Jupally, and Managing Director of Telugu daily Namaste Telangana and Telangana Today D Damodar Rao among others.
With PTI inputs