The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams on Wednesday issued legal notices to retired head priest A V Ramana Deekshitulu and also YSRC Rajya Sabha member V Vijay Sai Reddy asking for an explanation for their wild allegations against the TTD and the Andhra Pradesh government.
In the notice, TTD legal department said the allegations levelled by them had caused serious damage to the prestige and reputation of the Tirumala temple and had hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees.
Ramana Deekshitulu, who was forced to retire from service following the decision of the TTD trust board to enforce 65 years as retirement age for the priests, has been making serious allegations against the TTD and the Chandrababu Naidu government since then.
He alleged missing of precious antique jewellery from the temple, stealing of a pink diamond from one of the ancient ornaments of the Lord, unauthorised digging of Srivari Potu (kitchen) to unearth hidden wealth, interfering in the timings of religious rituals in the temple etc.
On the other hand, Vijay Sai Reddy alleged that the missing jewellery and wealth dug out from the temple kitchen were stashed in the bedroom of Chandrababu Naidu.
“If Telangana police or the Central Bureau of Investigation conducts raids on his house, all the stolen wealth could be recovered from him,” he alleged.
But what angered the TTD most was Ramana Deekshitulu’s meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah and YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
The trust board meeting held on June 5 resolved to take defamation case against the retired head priest soon after consulting the legal advisors. And now the TTD issued legal notices to Deekshitulu.
It is learnt similar legal notices would be sent all those, including a pro-BJP national media channel, which made similar allegations against the TTD.
