The Andhra Pradesh government made a departure from tradition by appointing Anil Kumar Singhal, hailing from North India, as the Executive Officer of Tirumula Tirupati Devasthanams notwithstanding the simmering discontent among Telugu IAS officers of the State about the choice.
Mr. Singhal, an AP State cadre officer, prior to his new appointment was serving as Resident Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh government at AP Bhavan in New Delhi.
The late Monday night orders came as a disappointment to the Telugu officers aspiring for the post as well as the Telugu IAS officers fraternity who have been openly airing their views about the post going to a ‘North Indian’. Sources said that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu made up his mind about the appointment of Mr. Singhal after the incumbent EO D. Sambasiva Rao’s tenure came to end in December, but took his own time sensing the mood of the bureaucrats. Apparently, the Chief Minister’s Office did not inform even the Endowment Minister Manikyala Rao about the impending orders till late Monday evening.
Explaining why the post should have gone to a Telugu or a South Indian, retired IAS officer M.V.S. Prasad who served as TTD EO from 1990 to 1992 said “TTD EO is an AP cadre post. It involves an understanding of the culture and sanctity of the temple traditions as also the subtleties and the sentiments of crores of devotees and those who carry out various temple rituals. It is not a mere administrative job that any IAS officer can be appointed”.
Mr. I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, former Executive Officer of the TTD, also echoed similar view. “I stand by what I have publicly said on this issue earlier. It is always better that this post is given to a Telugu or at least a South Indian who can better appreciate the traditions and customs of the temple. There was no particular reason to break a custom that is 100 years old.”
However, some senior Ministers did not look at the issue in that light. While admitting that so far Telugu State cadre IAS officers alone were appointed as TTD EOs, they however did not see anything amiss in appointing a non-Telugu, non-south Indian belonging to State cadre as the TTD EO. “He may not be a Telugu or South Indian, but he is a Hindu,” they said.
The post of TTD EO is mainly an administrative post and the officer should ideally confine himself to the administrative role. Region should not become an issue, they felt.
