All those who work at Tirumala should be Hindus, says newly-appointed chairman of TTD

Hyderabad: The newly-appointed chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board B R Naidu on Thursday said all those who work at Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, should be Hindus.

Speaking to reporters here, he said he would speak to the Andhra Pradesh government on how to deal with staff members belonging to other religions, whether they should be sent to other government departments or given VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme).

"Everyone who works at Tirumala should be Hindu. That would be my first effort. There are many issues in this. We have to look into that," he said.

Naidu, an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara, said he considers being appointed as chairman of the TTD Board as a privilege.

He thanked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders of the state's NDA government for giving him the responsibility of heading the Board.

B R Naidu, who alleged that many irregularities took place at Tirumala during the previous YSR Congress regime, said the sanctity of the temple should be safeguarded.

He also said he would work with honesty and transparency in discharging his duties.

B R Naidu is a media personality who runs Telugu TV channels, including a Hindu devotional channel.

The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday constituted a new board with 24 members for Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the body that administers the famous Balaji temple at Tirumala Tirupati.

The government appointed B R Naidu as chairman of the newly constituted TTD board, while Suchitra Ella, CoFounder and MD Bharat Biotech International Ltd is among the members.