As TDP Faces Flak For Appointing A ‘Christian’ To Tirumala Tirupati Board, MLA Asks CM To Cancel Her Nomination 

The Tirupati Temple Devasthanam (TTD) board was yet again in a soup after an allegedly doctored video of the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Payakaraopeta, Vangalpudi Anitha who was recently nominated to the temple board went viral.

The video, which hit social media soon after the state government issued an order appointing 17 members to the trust board, has the MLA saying, “I always have a Bible in my bag and in my car. I don’t move out without the Bible in hand.”

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) N Chandrababu Naidu drew severe flak from different quarters including devotees, different Hindu groups, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the YSR Congress for nominating the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader, as a member of the governing body of the Tirupati Balaji temple.

As reported by The Hindu, the said MLA reverted threatening to sue the YSR Congress Party for making the ‘doctored’ video go viral and refuted all claims of her being a Christian. Presenting various affidavits and certificates to show that she was a Hindu, she accused her rivals in YSR Congress party of jealousy and having 'cut and paste' her interview to a television channel.

She claimed that she was a Hindu saying that she was a frequent visitor to the Tirumala shrine and had also been offering special prayers at various temples in the state. “No one should suspect my integrity and devotion to the Hindu religion as I have been taking an active part in the Hindu rituals,” she said, as quoted by The Hindu.

But as the opposition leaders took on the CM for having appointed a Christian to the temple board, Anitha on Sunday (22 April) wrote to the CM requesting him to drop her from the board, as she did not want her appointment to 'cause inconvenience to the government'.