The Tirupati temple donation box scam row has ignited a red-hot political and public controversy in Andhra Pradesh, hurting the trust of crores of devotees. The matter came to light recently when there were reports of large-scale embezzlement of temple offerings handled by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the organisation that runs the holy and famous Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati.
The row emerged from a case in April 2023 when a former staffer of TTD, Ravi Kumar, was accused of stealing foreign currency notes from the "parakamani," which is the donation box at the temple. This charge picked up a lot of media attention now when Andhra Pradesh IT Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh posted CCTV footage claiming to show the theft. The charge mounted into allegations that more than Rs 100 crore of donations were diverted during the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) rule under YS Jagan Mohan Reddy between 2019 and 2024.
TDP, in association with BJP and JanaSena led by Pawan Kalyan, have condemned the YSRCP regime. They claim that the scam had involved conscious corruption and theft of crores of rupees from the treasury of donations of the temple. Senior leaders indicted former TTD Chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and other YSRCP officers of supporting the theft, including re-routing of the money into real estate deals and the house of then Chief Minister Jagan Reddy, the Tadepalli Palace. Nara Lokesh pointed out that "corruption ruled supreme" in Jagan's times and alleged that efforts were made to "settle" the case quietly, even through Lok Adalat to hush up the scam.
Members from the TTD, and BJP member such as G Bhanu Prakash Reddy, maintained that the question is not political but relates to the belief of millions of devotees. They called for a proper investigation and blamed previous procedural failures and suspected collusion in undermining temple security and vigilance.
The then ruling party, YSR Congress Party, has strongly denied the claims as politically motivated insults to destroy the image of the previous government and the sanctity of the temple. YSRCP leaders such as MP Maddila Gurumoorthy claimed the accusations to be a "political vendetta" and demanded that the Central Government transfer the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to ensure impartiality and a fair investigation.
YSRCP's supporters say that the TDP and supporting parties are politicising the issue of the temple to gain electoral advantage and that these allegations are baseless. They also mention that there is a pending inquiry involving the Andhra Pradesh High Court staying any Lok Adalat resolution of the issue and that the case is being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the state government.
The Tirupati temple donation box scam has become a prime-debated issue with severe charges of betrayal of devotees' trust by the political and temple managers. While opposition parties demand accountability and reveal purported scams as a sign of corruption in the YSRCP regime, the ruling party denies these allegations and calls for a valid, open-ended investigation. The row highlights the difficulties of controlling religious establishments entangled with politics while stressing the importance of protecting trust and transparency for millions of people who worship the Tirupati temple.
