NEW DELHI: Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday welcomed the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ decision to allow only Hindus to serve at the Lord Venkateshwar shrine and said non-Hindu employees should be deployed at other places in Andhra Pradesh.

In its first meeting, newly formed Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board on Monday reportedly passed a resolution that only Hindus will be allowed to serve at the temple and non-Hindu employees recruited by it will either be offered voluntary retirement or be asked to opt for transfer to other government departments.

The board also resolved to write a letter to the Andhra Pradesh government for taking an appropriate decision on its non-Hindu employees, it said in a statement on Monday.

“I welcome the TTD board’s decision. In its first effort to bring reforms, the board has decided that those who work near Lord Venkateswara Swamy should be Hindus only. Non-Hindus should not be there,” Reddy told reporters on the sidelines of an event here when asked for comment.

Non-Hindu employees will be transferred to other locations, he said.

The minister also welcomed the TTD’s decision to procure superior quality of ghee for ‘laddu’ preparations and said the mistakes done by the erstwhile temple committee should be rectified.

“In the coming days, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams should be a prominent spiritual centre of India. It is being developed like the Vatican city,” he added.