Overview
- Karnataka Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar announced on Sunday that his government will issue an order to allow ministers, MLAs, judges and senior officials from Karnataka to participate in the temple’s daily first aarti when the designated Special Officer is unavailable.
- A Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board member, G. Bhanuprakash Reddy, publicly condemned the proposal and said he would move a resolution to oppose it at the TTD board meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
- The Nitya Harathi is a tightly controlled morning ritual historically offered in the name of Karnataka and routinely received by a designated Special Officer representing the Mysore royal tradition; the ceremony is held inside the sanctum and witnessed by a very small group of priests and monks.
- Media and TTD officials note Shivakumar’s announcement does not itself change temple practice and that any widening of who may receive the aarti would require formal TTD approval and coordination with Andhra Pradesh authorities before being implemented.
- Critics, including BJP leaders and some TTD members, say the move risks politicising a sacred privilege and could prompt similar demands from other states, while supporters frame it as letting Karnataka representatives secure darshan they say they now miss.