TTD Trustees Deny 'Quid Pro Quo' Over Use of Chartered Flight to Mumbai
Tirupati: Amid the controversy over TTD officials using a chartered flight to attend Srinivasa Kalyanam ceremony in Mumbai, its trust board members have denied allegations of a 'quid pro quo'.
Addressing the media at Tirumala on Tuesday, TTD board member Naga Sathyam denied the allegations made by TD spokesperson Anam Venkataramana Reddy that Sathyam was "given a trust board seat in exchange for a deal to supply electric buses to TTD from Olectra Greentech."
Anam also alleged that Sathyam arranged the chartered flight for the TTD top brass for a trip to Mumbai on February 25.
Naga Sathyam explained that the private flight was arranged by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son Srikanth Shinde to enable TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy to attend the ceremony on February 25 and return for a trust board meeting the next day.
“The donors coordinating the Mumbai event had requested the TTD chairman and EO to attend the religious ceremony. Since there was a trust board meeting in Tirumala the next day, Shinde's son arranged a chartered flight for them.”
"Any such travel arrangements for TTD officials are routinely managed by event organisers and donors,'' he claimed.
Sathyam also denied allegations of misuse of administrative privileges or personal favours in return for board nominations. "I was a director of Olectra Greentech. Ten electric buses had been donated to TTD free of cost by Megha Krishna Reddy, but there was no quid pro quo deal here," he said.
Other board members Chande Aswartha Naik, M. Thippe Swamy and Y. Siddavatam also claimed the charges against TTD top brass were baseless. "It is customary for donors to arrange logistics for TTD priests and officials to attend religious events. The TTD made no arrangement for the Mumbai visit of its chairman and EO. The travel was arranged by donors," they claimed.
