Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman Putta Sudhakar Yadav’s refusal to tender his resignation has kicked up a controversy. A war of words between the ruling YSR Congress Party and the TTD members followed it.
Even as the demand to tender his resignation and those of other members of the TTD is on, there were reports that the Andhra Pradesh government is contemplating bringing an ordinance to dissolve the temple trust boards.
Social media was agog on Wednesday over the reported ordinance and that the State Cabinet (which is yet to be constituted) would take a decision on the TTD at its meeting on June 8.
But the government seems to be treading cautiously on promulgating the ordinance in view of the complications involved. The government is considering various options to overcome legal hurdles.
In the past, the TDP government had issued an ordinance to dissolve the trust boards. The High Court asked the then government to spell out its stand on petitions challenging the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu religious institutions and endowments (amendment) Ordinance. Then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu chose the ordinance route as the then Congress nominee TTD chairman Kanumuri Bapiraju and the chairmen of other boards were reluctant to resign their posts. Also, there is no provision in the Act to dissolve the boards through an ordinance. Keeping in view the previous government’s experience, the YSRCP government is planning to take up the trust boards’ issue “case by case.”
