Asserting that Tirumala is the "spiritual capital of Hindus", the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP on Thursday demanded that about 1,000 employees of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), who are suspected to be practicing the non-Hindu faith, should be removed from the temple board services.

Andhra Pradesh BJP spokesperson and TTD member Bhanu Prakash Reddy said representatives of the board would soon meet CM Chandrababu Naidu and state that the services of non-Hindus are not required.

"TTD has over 6,500 permanent employees and more than 17,000 contractual employees, bringing the total to about 24,000. I have received information that more than a thousand employees practice a non-Hindu religion, which is why we are taking a strong stance on this matter. On 14 February, we will be meeting our CM Chandrababu Naidu garu to request that non-Hindu employees should not be part of the TTD," he said.

On the TTD’s disciplinary action against 18 non-Hindu employees, Reddy said of the 18, two are believed to be 'real' Hindus, and hence the officials have been requested to re-verify their credentials.

Reddy claimed that non-Hindu employees receive salaries from TTD but do not accept Sri Venkateswara Swamy's prasadam (sacred offering). He further stated that the TTD Act mandates only Hindus to perform temple rituals and that all staff must be Hindu.

TTD recently issued an official memo barring 18 employees from participating in all religious and spiritual activities of the temple body as part of disciplinary action for allegedly engaging in "non-Hindu activities".