The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is rigorously scrutinizing the process through which the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) accepted landed properties as donations from C.V. Ravi Kumar, the key figure implicated in the notorious Parakamani scam.
Ravi Kumar, who served as a clerk at the Chinna Jeeyangar Mutt, was convicted in April 2023 for pilfering foreign currency from the sacred Srivari Hundi. A subsequent settlement was reportedly reached at the Lok Adalat on September 9, 2023, where Kumar confessed to his crime and ostensibly agreed to “voluntarily” transfer properties acquired with the stolen funds to the TTD.
Following a High Court reprimand for delays, the case has since been reopened and transferred to the CID for further investigation.
Just a day after CID Director-General Ravishankar Ayyanar officially took possession of the case files from the TTD, the BJP launched a sharp critique, highlighting significant procedural flaws in how the previous trust board, led by Y.V. Subba Reddy, managed the case from its alleged inception.
During a press conference held in Tirupati on October 15, 2025 (Wednesday), TTD board member and BJP State spokesperson G. Bhanuprakash Reddy drew attention to what he termed “striking discrepancies” in the board’s protocol, particularly concerning the acceptance of land as gifts or donations from the public.
Reddy emphasized that according to Rules 159(2) to 160 of Chapter XXI, outlined in G.O. Ms. No. 311 by the Revenue (Endowments-I) Department on April 9, 1990, public notices must be published in daily newspapers to solicit objections or suggestions regarding such donations.
However, the board’s resolution No. 159, passed during its meeting on June 19, 2023, controversially waived this publication requirement, citing it as a “special case and a one-time measure due to time constraint.” Reddy questioned the urgency behind this decision, asking what compelled the TTD board to expedite the resolution.
He further alleged that “top officials involved in the case, from the TTD administration all the way to the Chief Minister’s Office, harbored an interest in these properties,” suggesting that the “time constraint” was merely a pretext to keep property details from public view.
Adding to the list of concerns, legal expert and BJP city president K. Ajay Kumar pointed out another critical “lapse”: Ravi Kumar’s letter of consent to register his properties in the TTD’s favor was provided a day after the TTD had already taken possession of these assets.
“Should consent precede takeover or vice-versa? In their haste to cover up the issue, officials committed such glaring errors that are now coming to light,” queried Mr. Bhanuprakash Reddy, asserting the party’s demand for a comprehensive investigation.