Tirumala, April 24: The Big Two of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams — chairman D K Adikesavulu Naidu and executive officer I Y R Krishna Rao — are again locked in a combat following the High Court stay of the goldplating work on the Ananda Nilayam.
Both deny any differences, but it is evident they are pulling the gold-plating project in opposite directions.
The project, named Ananta Swarnamayam, is being questioned in the High Court by one Raghava Reddy of the Hindu Devalaya Parirakshana Samithi. The court stayed the work on Thursday.
The executive officer (EO) thinks the project is wasteful as the gold coating on the copper plates will fade with time and require doing the whole thing again. Naidu on the other hand is all for it, and during his recent visit to Hyderabad, reportedly complained bitterly against the EO to chief minister K Rosaiah for blocking the project.
Speaking to Express, the TTD chairman tried to play down the tug of war, saying it was all a creation of the media. ‘‘I never complained to the chief minister against the EO,” said Naidu. Krishna Rao too said all is hunky dory.
However, reports are that endowments minister G Venkata Reddy mediated between the two and brought about peace.
Naidu and Krishna Rao have been at it right from the time the latter was appointed as EO. First up, the chairman and his board were not happy with Krishna Rao’s decision to cancel the VIP break darshan (evening) on the weekends. And then, when Krishna Rao, after a much-publicised first-hand experience of the ordinary man’s queue, decided to allow parents with infants through the Mahadwaram, it was opposed by the chairman, who said this practice would only cause another queue to build up in front of the temple. Naidu also opposed the EO’s move to have a toilet constructed near the waiting hall for parents with infants near the Mahadwaram, and saw to it that the decision was rescinded. Even the Mahadwaram entry for parents with infants was put paid to. In line with his people-friendly policy, Krishna Rao introduced Sheegra Darshan tickets in place of the two discretionary ticket facilities (cellar and AAD), which allowed devotees to directly buy tickets instead of having to beg TTD officers and the chairman for a recommendation.
Naidu also had a bone to pick with EO when the then chief vigilance and security officer Ramakrishna conducted a raid on board members’ offices after informing the EO.
–Agencies