Union Minister Sanjay Kumar asks TTD to remove over 1,000 non-Hindu staff
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Tirupati: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Friday urged the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to remove non-Hindus from employment in Tirumala, claiming that over 1,000 non-Hindus are still serving within the temple body.
The BJP leader, who offered prayers at the Tirumala temple on his birthday, posted on social media platform ‘X’ that he asked the TTD board to remove non-Hindu employees and correct what he described as a “long-standing wrong”.
“Why are 1,000+ non-Hindus still working in TTD? Would Hindus ever be hired in mosques or churches? This isn’t about hate — it’s about dharma. TTD cannot become a platform for appeasement politics,” said Sanjay Kumar, Lok Sabha MP from Karimnagar, Telangana.
He added, “TTD mission must be clear: develop temples in Telugu states, preserve traditions, and entrust duties only to Hindus.”
The minister said he “took the divine blessings of Sri Venkateshwara Swamy. Prayed for peace, prosperity, and strength to all our people and to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is tirelessly working for Bharat.”
Speaking to media after the darshan, he called for unity in defending “Sanatana Dharma”. He also said that TTD “is not anybody’s property and that it belongs to only Hindus.”
Kumar further appealed to the TTD chairman to develop temples in Telangana, including Kondagattu, Karimnagar, Vemulawada, and Illantakunta.
TTD, which manages the famed hill shrine, suspended Assistant Executive Officer A. Rajasekhar Babu on July 3 for attending church prayers. The temple body cited his regular Sunday visits to a local church in Puttur, Tirupati district, as grounds for disciplinary action.
“It is nothing but a violation of TTD norms as he has not followed the code of conduct of the TTD as an employee of the organisation and has acted irresponsibly as an employee representing a Hindu religious organisation,” the TTD stated.
Earlier in February, disciplinary action was initiated against 18 employees for engaging in non-Hindu religious practices. The crackdown followed new TTD Board Chairman B.R. Naidu's declaration that only Hindus should be employed in institutions overseen by the temple trust.
