'Not Christian', Jagan's uncle on row over Tirumala temple board appointment

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has appointed his uncle and senior YSRCP leader YV Subba Reddy as the new chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Trust board, which manages the affairs of the Tirumala Venkateswara temple, world’s richest Hindu temple.

However, the appointment ran into controversy citing the religion of Subba Reddy, which some Twitter posts alleged was Christianity.

Subba Reddy has however denied the allegation, saying he was a Hindu by birth and continues to be so.

In an interview to a TV channel, he said he would die a Hindu.

Subba Reddy, won the Ongole Lok Sabha seat, replaces Putta Subhakar Reddy, appointed by the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government.

Other members of the board would be appointed shortly, special chief secretary (Revenue-Endowments) Manmohan Singh said in an order.

After YSR Congress victory in the recent assembly elections, 10 members of the TTD board voluntarily quit their posts while another ceased to hold office as he lost the assembly election.

Earlier, chief secretary L V Subrahmanyam held talks with the law secretary on the TTD Trust Board issue to avoid legal hassles in the constitution of a new board.

A temple official told PTI that the order mentioning the appointment of Subba Reddy did not mention the new Chairman’s term in office.