The Trustees on Thursday tried to present a united front saying that a new chairman would be elected soon as Sathya Sai Baba had neither left a will nor named any successor. Two Trust members would also be given the power to sign cheques in place of the 'godman'.

Addressing their maiden press conference in 20 years at the Sathya Sai Indoor Stadium here, the trustees also played down reports about Baba's ill-health saying there was nothing to suggest that anything was "extraordinarily wrong" prior to March 28 and that he was in his full senses till admission to the superspeciality hospital. They also sought to bury the casket controversy with Trust member Venu Srinivasan asserting: "The casket arrived only after the Baba had passed away. We never ordered any casket in the first place. "Last year, the Baba himself expanded the trust by appointing five trustees and four members of the council of management. The trustees will take care of the Trust activities as enshrined in the Trust deed," Naganand said.

Refuting reports that none of Baba's family members was allowed into the ICU, Rathnakar said he was with him during all the 27 days. "Several members of the family had darshan in the ICU," he said. Asked as to who had decided to remove the ventilator, he said it was never removed. While Srinivasan said: "In the hospital, he was treated by doctors like any other patient. They did not treat him as God." He agreed that Baba's frame was slender but refused to comment on reports that his weight had dropped to 35 kgs before hospitalisation.

On allegations against Satyajit, Srinivasan said: "He was with the Baba for 20 years. If he wasn't taking care of the Baba, he would have been sent away immediately." While Rathnakar dismissed reports of differences with Satyajit and said that he shared a "good relationship" with him. Senior trustees — former justice P N Bhagwati, Indulal Shah and S V Giri — along with member of council of management T K K Bhagvat were also present at the presser. "When Baba was alive we never had an occasion to interact with the media," Srinivasan said.