Home » Andhra Pradesh » Andhra Government Appoints 24 Members To Ttd Board List Includes Sarath Reddy Named In Delhi Liquor Scam

Andhra government appoints 24 members to TTD Board; list includes Sarath Reddy, named in Delhi liquor scam

The Andhra Pradesh government constitutes a new TTD Board every two years. The tenure of the previous TTD Board ended on 8 August.

BySNV Sudhir

Published Aug 26, 2023 | 8:13 AM ⚊UpdatedAug 26, 2023 | 9:58 AM

The Tirupati Sri Venkateswara Temple. (Official website)

The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Friday, 25 August, appointed 24 members to the newly-constituted Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board, a most-coveted position in Andhra Pradesh.

Earlier, the state government had, on 5 August, issued a government order (GO) constituting a new board of the TTD with Tirupati MLA and close aide of Jagan’s family, Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, as the chairman.

The Andhra Pradesh government constitutes a new TTD Board every two years. The tenure of the previous TTD Board ended on 8 August.

Jagan took some 20 days to finalise the members of the new TTD Board due to the large number of requests for inclusion from across the country.

The TTD is an independent trust which manages the temples in the state, including the affairs of one of the world’s richest Hindu temples — the Tirumala hill shrine located in the Chittoor district.

The TTD’s post is coveted as it allows its holder to network with VVIPs from across the country visiting the Tirumala temple. Many also consider it a service to the Lord.

Related: A surprise pick for TTD chairman; smear campaign follows

Delhi liquor scam accused in list

In a surprise pick, an accused in the alleged Delhi liquor scam, Penaka Sarath Chandra Reddy, found place in the list. In the charge sheets filed by both CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED), Sarath Reddy was accused of being one of the members of the so-called “South Group”.

Sarath Reddy, a whole-time director of top pharma firm Aurobindo Pharmaceuticals, was arrested by the ED in November last year.

It was in June that Sarath Reddy turned approver in the case, and a Delhi court had also granted pardon to him in the case.

Sarath Reddy is also the elder brother of Rohith Reddy, the son-in-law of Rajya Sabha MP V Vijayasai Reddy, one of Chief Minister Jagan’s closest aides.

The naming of Sarath Reddy, as well as another member, Ketan Desai, has elicited criticism. BJP state president Daggubati Purendeswari posted on X (formerly Twitter) that her party condemns the appointment to the TTD Board of these two members.

Once again AP CM has proven that TTD Board is but a political Rehabilitation centre. To nominate to the Board people like Sarat Chandra Reddy, who was involved in the liquor scam in Delhi and Ketan Desai, who was found to be corrupt and dismissed from the MCI by the High Court of… pic.twitter.com/4BCFEycsEW

— Daggubati Purandeswari 🇮🇳 (@PurandeswariBJP) August 26, 2023