In response to the corruption allegations made by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy in Tirupati, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy on November 16 (Thursday) said that he was ready for a debate to give answers to every question put forth by the former.
Mr. Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy questioned the eligibility of Mr. Dharma Reddy to occupy the TTD EO post on Thursday. “Lord Venkateswara temple is the richest and most revered in the world. Only IAS officers and senior IAS officers can hold the post of the Executive Officer for the temple. But who do we have here? A person who worked in the defence sector in New Delhi has been given the opportunity when we have many IAS officers in the State,” he said.
To this, Mr. Dharma Reddy, in a release, said that as per the norms, either a person holding an IAS officer’s rank or someone who holds an equivalent cadre should be appointed as the TTD EO. “Belonging to 1991 batch, I have held posts equal to or greater than that of Principal Secretaries. A case was also filed in the High Court questioning my eligibility, but it was quashed,” said Mr. Dharma Reddy.
Responding to the TDP leader’s allegations of corruption, Mr. Dharma Reddy gave figures of total revenue generated in the last four-and-a-half years of his tenure.
“While 3,885 kg gold was deposited, ₹4,800 crore was received through fixed deposits and ₹1,021 crore was generated through SriVani Trust,” he said, adding that the TTD was taking up several infrastructural development projects with the money received from the donors.
