Tirupati: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has levelled serious allegations against the previous YSR Congress Party government, led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, claiming that nearly ₹100 crore was looted from the donation boxes of the Tirumala temple under the management of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
BJP leader and TTD board member Bhanu Prakash Reddy released CCTV footage to back his charge and said the money was stolen by a staffer named Ravikumar from the “parakamani”, the hall where devotees’ offerings are counted. “Devotees were looted under the YSRCP regime when they placed their offerings in the donation box,” he alleged, describing it as “the biggest such loot in TTD’s history under the YSRCP regime.”
The BJP leader further claimed that crores of rupees from the theft were diverted into real estate investments, while a part of the illicit funds was routed to the Tadepalli Palace, the residence of Jagan Mohan Reddy. He alleged that evidence was destroyed after the scam and that “an officer may soon express remorse and expose the full details of what he called a ₹100-crore scam.” Bhanu Prakash Reddy has also sought answers from Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, who was the TTD chairman during the period.
The controversy comes after the Andhra Pradesh High Court transferred the case to the Crime Investigation Department and directed a sealed-cover report within a month. The court ordered that all documents and board decisions of the TTD related to the matter be seized. The case, which had earlier been “settled” through Lok Adalat with the accused, is now under renewed scrutiny, with BJP alleging that the compromise involved several YSRCP leaders and top officials.
The allegations have triggered a political storm around the temple, one of the richest in the country, where the handling of offerings and donations is a matter of deep public faith. While the CID probe is underway, the BJP has sharpened its attack on the YSRCP, insisting that devotees’ trust was betrayed under the previous regime.
