The newly constituted Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board passed resolution on Monday to request the Andhra Pradesh government to remove non-Hindu employees from the temple administration. The resolution aligns with Article 16(5) of the Constitution of India, which allows religious institutions to restrict employment to individuals of the same faith to ensure the sanctity of such institutions is preserved.
The new TTD Board has taken the decision in its first meeting, chaired by BR Naidu, a staunch devotee of Bhagwan Venkateswara and a prominent media personality. Suchitra Ella, Co-Founder and MD Bharat Biotech International Ltd is among the members. The meeting, held at Annamayya Bhawan in Tirumala, included discussions on protecting the religious character of the Tirumala temple. Notably, the Tirumala temple is considered the world’s richest Hindu shrine.
Naidu announced that all non-Hindu employees at the temple would either be offered a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) or transferred to other government departments. The board has started an assessment to determine how many non-Hindu employees are presently serving at the temple. Initial estimates shows that there are around 300 permanent staff members and an unspecified number of contract workers. Employee unions have extended their support to the decision, asking that it is consistent with the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Act, the TTD Act, and a 1989 government order mandating that only Hindus be employed in temple-related roles.
The Tirumala temple’s administration has long been governed by laws reinforcing its religious identity. The TTD Act has been amended three times to ensure the exclusivity of Hindu employees. Recent rulings by the Andhra Pradesh High Court have further strengthened this mandate by upholding the validity of rules requiring staff at religious institutions to adhere to the faith of the institution.
Despite these safeguards put in place by the TTD Board, complaints have persisted that non-Hindu staff members were kept during previous administrations, under the YSR Congress government. The decision by the newly formed TTD Board seeks to rectify oversights that continued during previous governments.
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