The slugfest over the alleged “unauthorised” transportation of gold belonging to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) continued on Wednesday with the ruling and opposition parties trading charges, and Chief Secretary L. V. Subrahmanyam forwarding the inquiry report submitted by Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Manmohan Singh to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for further action.
The officials are tight-lipped over the findings. Mr. Manmohan Singh gathered several documents relating to the transportation of gold worth approximately ₹400 crore. He interacted with TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal and the Punjab National Bank (PNB) officials during his visit to Tirupati on Monday.
It is learnt that the lapses in the transportation of the gold were pointed out in his report. The alleged negligence on the part of PNB officials, and the TTD officials’ failure in taking precautionary safety measures were also discussed in the report, sources said.
‘False propaganda’
Reacting bitterly to YSR Congress Party allegations on the gold seizure by the election authorities and its release later, Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments and Revenue) K. E. Krishnamurthy refuted the charges of any negligence on its part in transporting the gold and reiterated the TTD claim that it was the responsibility of the PNB authorities to transport the gold by making adequate security arrangements till the gold reached the TTD treasury. The onus lies on the bank authorities on the safety of the gold. They have to decide the route to transport the gold, he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Reacting to YSRCP MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy’s allegations, Mr. Krishnamurthy that the opposition party was resorting to ‘false propaganda’ and ‘mudslinging’ on Tirumala temple hurting the sentiments of the devotees.
The TTD deposited the 1,311 kg gold with the PNB under gold monetisation scheme on April 17, 2016, for a period of three years. The financial sub-committee of the TTD has decided to take back the gold on March 20 upon maturity of the deposits. On March 27, the bank was asked to return the gold deposits to the TTD before the expiry of the term. As much as 1,381 kg gold, including 70-kg gold towards interest, was being transported to Tirupati. The TTD paid 1.5% of the value to the banks towards handling charges, he explained.