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3w ago

TTD Suspends Four More Non-Hindu Employees Under Hindu-Only Staffing Policy

Vigilance findings under a 1989 rule triggered the suspension of staff who declined to affirm exclusive Hindu practices.

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TTD executive officer J. Shyamala Rao said that the trust board, which met at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala, had decided on May 20 that its institutions should not have any non-Hindus on their rolls. (PTI)
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Overview

  • TTD suspended deputy executive engineer B. Elizar, Dr. G. Asuntha of SV Ayurveda Pharmacy, nurse S. Rosi at BIRRD Hospital, and pharmacist M. Premavati after a vigilance department probe found they practiced non-Hindu faiths.
  • The suspensions enforce Service Rule 9(vi), issued in 1989, which obliges new hires to sign an oath pledging exclusive adherence to Hindu Dharma.
  • The action follows a May 20 board resolution barring non-Hindus from all TTD institutions and offering transfers or voluntary retirement to those who do not comply.
  • Earlier this month, TTD suspended Assistant Executive Officer A. Rajasekhar Babu under the same grounds and in February opened disciplinary proceedings against 18 non-Hindu staff members.
  • Legal experts and rights groups have challenged the policy as conflicting with constitutional guarantees of religious freedom in public bodies.