In a sudden and surprising decision, senior Telugu Desam Party leader Janga Krishnamurthy on Friday resigned from his position as a member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board.
He submitted his resignation letter to TTD trust board chairman B R Naidu and forwarded its copy to TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, requesting that it be accepted with immediate effect.
Sources said that Krishnamurthy explained the reasons for his resignation in detail in the letter addressed to the chief minister.
Krishnamurthy had earlier been allotted Plot No 2 in Balajinagar, which remains vacant to date. He had reportedly requested the government to reallocate the plot to him. The proposal was forwarded to the TTD Board and is said to have received approval.
However, it is learnt that during the cabinet meeting held on Thursday, the land allotment was cancelled. This development is believed to have triggered his decision to step down from the TTD board.
Clarifying his decision, Krishnamurthy told media persons in Vijayawada that he had resigned from the TTD board to avoid causing any embarrassment to Naidu.
He recalled that in 2005, during his earlier tenure as a TTD Board member, he had requested land in Tirumala for the construction of a guest house. The land was allotted at that time, but due to financial constraints, he could not proceed with the construction.
He stated that he recently requested the TTD once again to allot the land to him. The TTD board, he said, passed a resolution and forwarded it to the chief minister. “Whether the land should be allotted or not is for the government to decide. It is an administrative decision,” he remarked.
He said he did not want any impression to be created that the board had committed a mistake by recommending the land allotment in his favour. “Does the TTD board not have the authority to recommend land allotment?” he asked, expressing his anguish.
Further, he explained that the land which had been earlier allotted and later cancelled was now being sought for the ‘Om Sri Namo Venkateswara Global Trust’, of which he is the chairman. Questioning how this could be considered wrong, he said he decided to resign to prevent any inconvenience to the government and the TTD administration.
Janga Krishnamurthy also revealed that the chief minister had given him the opportunity to serve Lord Venkateswara for the third time. “I did not want my presence in the board to become an issue for the government or the TTD. That is why I stepped down,” he added.
It may be recalled that Janga Krishnamurthy resigned from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) a few days before the 2024 Assembly elections and subsequently joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
He actively supported the NDA alliance in the elections, which ultimately led to the formation of the coalition government under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu, who later nominated him to the TTD board.
