Reacting to the allegations of usage of animal fat in the making of the Tirupati Laddu Prasadam, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Friday that the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) is “politicising religious matters.”
Chandrababu Naidu had alleged that the previous YSR Congress-led government used animal fat in Laddus at Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati. A lab test report also showed the presence of pig fat and beef fat in the samples from the Tirupati temple.
“The tender process occurs every six months, and the qualification criteria has not changed for decades. Suppliers must provide an NABL certificate and a product quality certificate. TTD collects samples from the ghee, and only products that pass certification are used. TDP is politicizing religious matters. We have rejected the products in our regime 18 times,” Jaganmohan Reddy said.
Tirupati Laddu Prasadam row | Amaravati: YSRCP chief and former Andhra Pradesh CM, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy says, "The tender process occurs every six months, and the qualification criteria has not changed for decades. Suppliers must provide an NABL certificate and a product quality… pic.twitter.com/ln3Bl1OMvo
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2024
Former TDP Chairman and YSRCP leader YV Subbareddy had earlier denied all allegations of animal fat adulteration in ghee used to make the Laddu prasadam. He claimed that only organic ingredients were used in the preparation of Prasadam.
“All the ingredients used for Swami’s offerings from the last three years are all organic ingredients, including ghee. This is a very vile allegation that our government and our party, which have done so many programs while protecting the sanctity of Swami, are doing so many programs to mislead the people,” he said.
We got samples tested and confirmed beef fat and pig fat adulteration, says TTD Executive Officer Shamala Rao
Meanwhile, executive officer of Tirumala Tirupathi Devastanam (TTD) Shamala Rao said that there had been apprehensions about the quality of the Prasadam and under CM Naidu’s instructions a lab test of the same was ordered.
“When I took over as executive officer TTD, the CM expressed concern on the ghee procured and the quality of the laddu which is considered to be very sacred and offered as ‘Prasadam’ to Lord Venkateswara Swamy. Any deviation in the quality will cause doing ‘apavithram’ (doing something which is not sacred). He wanted me to take steps to ensure that the sanctity of this temple is restored including getting pure cow milk ghee. We started working on that… We found that we don’t have any internal lab to test adulteration in the ghee. There is no system to check the quality of ghee in outside labs also… The rates quoted by tenderers are unviable, they are so low that anyone can say that pure cow ghee cannot cost so less… We warned all suppliers, that they will be blacklisted if the ghee supplied doesn’t pass the lab test… We collected all samples and sent it to the best lab, it is government-controlled, and the reports have come and are shocking,” he said.
Rao further added, “The report says the ghee sample is adulterated with vegetable fat and also animal fat. Animal fat adulteration includes lard (pig fat), palm oil, beef tallow, and fish oil including grape seed and linseed. The ghee sample was a concoction of all this and the result was abnormally low. Pure milk fat should have a reading between 95.68 to 104.32, but all our ghee samples had values around 20, which means the ghee supplied is highly adulterated… We started the procedure for blacklisting and also penalising the supplier. We formed an expert committee to improve ghee supplies and also to strengthen our internal system so that we don’t face this problem again… We have found suppliers who have passed the tests… We have been asked by the expert committee to set up our own lab… This problem will be solved in the future.”
Rao added that the TTD is in the process of setting up an in-house lab. For the time being the TTD is working with NABL accredited labs and regularly sending samples to ensure the quality of ingredients. The process of blacklisting of the former suppliers who sent adulterated ghee is already started and the new suppliers have been found and their samples have passed the tests.
#WATCH | Tirupati Laddu Prasadam row | Executive officer of Tirumala Tirupathi Devastanam (TTD) Shamala Rao says, "The report says the ghee sample is adulterated with vegetable fat and also animal fat. Animal fat adulteration includes lard (pig fat), palm oil, beef tallow, and… pic.twitter.com/LPdyuCCvA3
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2024
Earlier on Thursday, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh shared a video clip in which Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was seen saying that previously animal fat was used in consecrated sweets–‘Tirupati Prasadam’ instead of ‘Ghee’ at Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati.
In a post on X, Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh said that he was shocked by the findings and added, “The Lord Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Tirumala is our most sacred temple. I am shocked to learn that the YS Jagan administration used animal fat instead of ghee in the Tirupati Prasadam.”
“Shame on YS Jagan and the YSR party government that couldn’t respect the religious sentiments of crores of devotees,” he added.
The charges of the AP CM have been denied by former TDP Chairman and YSRCP leader YV Subbareddy, who claimed that only organic ingredients were used in the preparation of Prasadam.
(With inputs from ANI)
