The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board has removed A.V. Ramana Deekshitulu from his positions as honorary chief priest and Agama adviser. (Photo:X)
Tirupati: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board has removed A.V. Ramana Deekshitulu from his positions as honorary chief priest and Agama adviser, following a row over some of his videographed comments.
The decision was taken at the board meeting chaired by Bhumana Karunakar Reddy in Tirumala on Monday.
The TTD board deliberated on the accusations made by Ramana Deekshitulu against senior TTD officials in a recent video. In the video that went viral on social media, he sharply criticised some TTD officials, the Tirumala Jeeyar Swamijis and other priests.
The criticism was mainly against alleged deviations by priests from the Agama principles being followed by the temple administration in recent years.
After the video went viral, a war of words broke out last week between two factions of the Tirumala temple priests. The current chief priest A. Venugopala Deekshitulu and other priests claimed that the accusations were made with malicious intent.
Venugopala Deekshitulu claimed that all rituals at the temple were performed by strict adherence to the Vaikhanasa Agama traditions.
The Ahobila Mutt condemned Ramana Deekshitulu's comments. Mutt Sri Karyam, S. Padmanabhachariar, denied the charge that TTD executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy frequently visited the mutt to monitor “hidden treasures” kept in the caves.
Expressing dismay over the "irresponsible statements" that hurt religious sentiments, the mutt urged the TTD board to take action against Ramana Deekshitulu.
As Ramana Deekshitulu not only levelled allegations against TTD officials and Jeeyar Swamijis but also made “inappropriate” remarks against temple priests and the Ahobila mutt pontiff, the board noted, and hence it resolved to remove him from the two prestigious posts.
However, Ramana Deekshitulu claimed that the video was fabricated by vested interests to defame him. He asserted in a social media post that the voice in the video was mostly not his, and that some people edited it to spoil his ties with the TTD.
However, based on a complaint by TTD's L. Murali Sandeep, the Tirumala 1-Town police booked Ramana Deekshitulu under multiple charges including promoting enmity between groups. The police are examining the facts and sent the video for forensic test to ascertain its authenticity.
The case has been filed under Cr. No: 03/2024 U/S 153 (A), 295, 295-A, 505 (2) r/w 120 (b) of IPC against Ramana Deekshitulu.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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