Who Will Handle Baba Multi-Crore Empire?

As the renowned Godman Satya Sai Baba is waging a losing battle following multi-organ failure, a bitter tussle is on for control over the spiritual empire he has created over six decades.

The hospital where Baba is battling for life has become the venue for a stormy meeting of the key members of Satya Sai Central Trust where the future of the multi-crore establishment was discussed.

The major bone of contention was who should have the cheque power in controlling the activities of the Trust which manages a global network of Sai Baba spiritual, social and philanthropic activities.

The tussle was between Satyajit, a close aide of Baba, and Ratnakar, who is the nephew of Baba and the lone representative of the family in the Trust. A proposal was made to hand over the levers of control of the organization to Satyajit who has been the most trusted attendant of Baba. However, Ratnakar and some other members strongly opposed this, leading to a heated discussion.

The State Minister Dr J Geetha Reddy has stepped in as a mediator to sort out the contentious issues and ensure smooth functioning of the Trust. She came up with a compromise formula under which both Ratnakar and Satyajit will have joint cheque powers and they will discharge their responsibilities as per the resolutions of the Central Trust, according to a lead story in “Andhra Jyothy”. The all-powerful secretary of the Trust and retired IAS officer K Chakravarthi is believed to be behind the campaign to elevate Satyajit to the key position and give full powers to him. The daily also reported that Baba, who holds the cheque power now in the capacity of the Trust Chairman, has been duped by some insiders who forged his signature and issued several cheques in the recent past.

The report quoted Prasad, one of the relatives of Baba, as alleging that the members of the Trust were responsible for the present plight and that they were only interested in plundering the wealth.

Meanwhile, the state government is seriously mulling over taking control of the management of the Trust. It has already initiated an exercise to gather financial details of the Trust and is playing a facilitator role to sort out the matters inside the Ashram.

Amidst growing criticism over the opaque functioning of the Trust, whose properties are estimated to be worth over Rs one lakh crore, the central government is believed to have taken a serious note of the goings-on at Prashanthi Nilayam. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, is said to have personally enquired about the activities of Trust. He has sought reports from Union Finance and Home Ministries and also from the state government.

According to official sources, the former Chief Justice of India and a member of the Trust Justice PN Bhagavathi has submitted a report to the Prime Minister Office on the recent developments at Puttaparthi.