Chilkur priest pushes for Dalit as TTD chief

Nellore: The Temples Protection Movement Convenor and hereditary archakas-cum-trustee of Chilkur Balaji temple, C.S. Rangarajan, has appealed to the AP government to scrap the newly appointed Specified Authority and constitute a full-fledged Trust Board with a practising Hindu Dalit as the chairman.

If a Dalit is appointed as the chairman, it will definitely send positive signals to the marginalised communities who are feeling excluded in the temple system, Rangarajan said in a press release.

According to Rangarajan, the chairman dons the role of Yajaman who is the Kartha of the temple rituals and holds higher clout than the archakas or jeeyangars.

Regular board is required to set aside the apprehensions of crores of devotees of Balaji who feel that the specified authority may toe the line of the government to divert the funds of TTD to adjust for the fiscal deficit.

Earlier such instance of the Specified Authority in 2010 was under the united Andhra Pradesh government, which was there for a very short term but had officers from other departments. At that time in 2010, the body was appointed in the wake of unprecedented allegations of irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the TTD that caused anguish to devotees and hurt their sentiments. The specified authority is constituted only in extraordinary circumstances and we as devotees feel that there is no such situation at present," he added.

Parallels cannot be drawn between 2010 and now as the last time the specified authority was entrusted with the responsibility to set right the TTD administration, plug loopholes to eliminate malpractices and protect the sanctity of the Tirumala temple, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, he added.