Church leaders have criticized the authorities of one of India’s most famous Hindu temples for suspending four employees because of their Christian faith. The managers of the Sri Venkates-wara temple, popularly known as the Tirupati temple, in southern Andhra Pradesh state, announced on July 19 the suspension of employees for “following other religions.” The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), a trust managed under the state govern-ment, manages the temple, billed as India’s most popular and richest.
“The employees were reportedly following the Christian faith, which violates the code of conduct,” of the temples, TTD said in a statement posted on social media. The decision was taken following a vigilance report and review of supporting evidence, the trust said. The temple report-edly owns assets and properties worth about US$30 billion, making it one of the richest in the world. The TTD’s administrative board manages 12 temples and sub-shrines, employing some 14,000 people. Father Robinson Rodri-gues, public relations officer of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), termed the deci-sion a violation of constitutional rights.
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