Responding to the recent allegations made by former head priest of the Tirumala temple A.V. Ramana Deekshitulu, TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal on Sunday said the sole motive of the organisation was to safeguard the interests, the ancient heritage and the rich traditions of the temple, besides offering smooth darshan and amenities to the pilgrims. Interacting with the media at the Annamaiah Bhavan in Tirumala on Sunday, Mr. Singhal, who was accompanied by Joint Executive Officer K.S. Sreenivasa Raju, clarified that the retirement age for the archakas was 65 as per the GO Nos 1171 and 611 and said the decision had not been taken with vengeance against anyone.
“Our job, as officers, is to look after the care and amenities accorded to pilgrims visiting the hill shrine whereas the religious staff safeguard the rich traditions and ancient rituals. Even the “Nitya Puja” and the “Darshan System” were established in the temple based on the report submitted by New Management Committee on March 1, 1979. If the Agamas permit we are ready to telecast the “Arjitha Sevas” performed to Lord Sri Venkateswara, for the sake of people,” he said.
Referring to the reports of the Justice Wadhwa Committee, Mr. Singhal said all the jewels were maintained properly and clearly recorded in the Tiruvabharanam register, including the broken pieces of stones preserved as “Mulles” (pieces of stones tied together in cloth), indicating the transparency.
“The committee, in its report, said all the jewels donated to Lord Venkateswara were intact and the TTD is ready for public display of jewels amid tight security, if the Agama advisers permit them to do so,” he said.
Pink diamond issue
With respect to the pink diamond, which is said to have broken during the Garuda Seva of 2001 Brahmotsavams and later went missing as alleged by Mr. Ramana Deekshitulu, Mr. Singhal said the Justice Jagannadha Rao Committee had submitted a report saying the broken pieces of the pink stone were in the custody of the Peishkar.
“The jewel was donated by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1945 and the price of the ruby was valued at ₹50, at that time. Former Executive Officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao had submitted a report to the State government in 2010 saying the broken piece was a ruby and not that of “Pink Diamond” as alleged,” he said.
With respect to the recent repairs and alteration work inside the temple “potu [kitchen]” (even in 2001 and 2007), Mr. Singhal said every change had been made after taking the opinion of the Agama advisers. For the recent alterations, Mr. Singhal said they had approached and taken the consent of Agama Adviser N.A.K. Sunderavaradan, Sri HH Pedda Jiyar Swamy and even Mr. Ramana Deekshitulu.
