Allegedly under pressure from its key ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has begun taking action against non-Hindu employees working across various departments of the organization.
In recent days, the BJP has reportedly identified Christian employees in the TTD and conducted sting operations to expose their non-Hindu religious activities.
Following this, the party has been pressuring the TTD to remove such employees from service.
On Saturday, the TTD suspended four of its employees for allegedly following other religious faiths.
The suspended personnel include B. Elizar, Deputy Executive Engineer (Quality Control); S. Rosi, Staff Nurse at BIRRD Hospital; M. Premavati, Grade-I Pharmacist at BIRRD Hospital; and Dr. G. Asuntha from SV Ayurveda Pharmacy.
According to a TTD statement, these employees were accused of violating the institution’s code of conduct and acting irresponsibly in their roles, despite being part of a Hindu religious organization.
“After reviewing the report submitted by the TTD Vigilance Department and other available evidence, departmental action was taken in accordance with service rules, and the four employees were immediately suspended,” the statement said.
Earlier, on July 9, the TTD had suspended Assistant Executive Officer A Rajasekhar Babu on charges of practising another faith, which violated the declaration he had signed at the time of appointment affirming adherence to Hinduism.
The TTD noted that Rajasekhar Babu was regularly attending church services and praying every Sunday in his hometown of Puttur, Tirupati district.
As per Rule 9 (vi) of the Service Rules outlined in GO No. 1060 of the Revenue (Endowments-1) Department, dated October 24, 1989, all TTD employees are required to take an oath and sign a declaration that they will follow Hindu Dharma and observe only Hindu traditions throughout their service.