“Chandrababu Naidu a pathological and habitual liar has stooped so low as to seriously hurt the beliefs of crores of people purely for political objectives…It is imperative that Mr Naidu be reprimanded in severest way for his shameless act of spreading lies and the truth be brought to light.This would allay the suspicions that Mr Naidu has created in the minds of crores of Hindu devotees and restore the faith in the sanctity of the TTD,” Reddy wrote to PM Modi.
On Wednesday, CM Naidu sparked controversy by alleging that animal fat was mixed in the ghee used to prepare the famous Tirumala laddu during the term of the previous YSRCP government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
YSRCP denied the allegations and said Naidu was making wild statements for political reasons.
Naidu said that he was astonished to find that poor quality material was used to prepare Lord Venkateswara‘s ‘prasadam’.
A day after Naidu’s claim, his government made public a laboratory analysis report of the cow ghee samples supplied to the Tirumala temple trust for making its laddu. It revealed the presence of foreign fats including lard (clarified pig fat), tallow (beef fat) and fish oil.
The report, however, is silent whether the adulterants were deliberately added or crept in through feeding conditions and other factors.
Naidu’s allegation and the NDDB’s report have shocked millions of devotees of Lord Venkateswara across the globe as the Tirupati laddus are considered Maha Prasadam and carry a high sentimental value.
As the controversy spiralled into a massive outrage, the Centre weighed in and sought a full report on the issue and Union health minister JP Nadda assured that the government would further the matter and take suitable actions.
During a press conference, Nadda said that he spoke to Naidu after the controversy erupted and announced speaking to state regulators for a thorough investigation.
The temple trust prepares about three lakh laddus daily and the ‘prasadam’ is held in high regard by devotees.
During YSRCP’s tenure in government, TTD had given the ghee supply contract to a private contractor, replacing the “Nandini” brand of ghee, a product of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).
Following the change in supplier, there were several complaints over the quality of the laddu.
The NDA government on August 29 signed a contract once again with KMF for ghee. TTD utilises about 10,000 kg of ghee every day for the laddu ‘prasadam.’