Tirupati Laddu Controversy: Political leaders, public disturbed alike

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) initiated action against Chennai-based AR Dairy for supplying adulterated ghee. The TTD marketing department procurement GM Muralikrishna lodged a police complaint against AR Dairy for supplying ghee in violation of TTD rules. Muralikrishna said that orders were given to AR Dairy for the supply of 10 lakh kgs of ghee on May 15 this year. On June 12, 20, 25 and on July 6, AR Dairy supplied 4 tankers of ghee.

How did the Controversy start:

The controversy that shook the whole country, especially the Hindu community, in the last few days after Chandrababu Naidu alleged that his predecessor, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, for letting the use of ghee which is substandard and had animal fat content mixed in it. The revelation was made during a programme held marking the 100 days of the NDA government formed in the state.

Naidu-led government released a lab report by the NDDB in Gujarat confirming the presence of animal fat like beef tallow and lard in the ghee samples used in the manufacture of the prasadam laddus in Tirumala. These statements by the AP CM sparked a massive row, enraging the devotees who worship Lord Venkateswara Swami.

The Other side:

Former Chief minister YS Jagan mohan Reddy addresseed the press and stated that the allegations made by Chandrababu Naidu are baseless. The quality checking process of the TTD is robust and nothing goes without testing and vigilance. Numerous times the tankers go back after failing to pass the quality test. He also stated that the state government has no say in the administration of the Tirumala temple.

EO statement:

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Executive officer Syamala Rao denied that the adulterated ghee that arrived in July 2024 was used to prepare the laddus. When asked about whether the batches found to be adulterated were actually used for the preparation of the venerated prasadam at the Tirupati temple, the executive officer of the TTD replied in the negative.

On June 12, Syamala Rao took over as EO of TTD after the Telugu Desam Party-led government came to power. He stated that the ghee contaminated with fish oil, lard and beef tallow, besides other vegetable oils was supplied in July 2024. Out of the 10 tankers supplied by the AR Diary located in Tamil Nadu, cow ghee in four tankers was found to be of inferior quality based on the perception analysis of the TTD experts.

Samples from these tankers were collected and sent to the National Diary Development Board’s Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (NDDB CALF) in Anand, Gujarat for adulteration tests. The EO confirmed to ‘The Print’ that the adulterated ghee was never used to make the laddu prasadam at Tirumala. He also added that 5 different agencies were supplying ghee to TTD at that time and only samples from AR Dairy tankers were found to be of low quality.

Addressing a press conference at Tirumala, Syamala Rao had said that the samples were sent to external labs for testing for the first time in the history of TTD.

YSRCP leader and former Chief Minister of AP, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy pointed out that Naidu was at the helm, when the adulterated ghee was supplied, and samples were collected and tested.

IVR Krishna Rao, former chief secretary, Andhra Pradesh said “If the CM’s claims are based on the rejected ingredients following the NDDB report, then his allegations of animal fat in Tirupati laddus are unfounded.”

Verbal duel continues

Meanwhile, during an NDA legislative party meeting a few days ago, Naidu claimed that the previous YSRCP government did not even spare Sri Venkateswara temple and used sub-standard ingredients and animal fat for making laddus. Naidu pointed out that as per earlier conditions, the ghee supplier should have at least three years of experience, but Jagan Mohan Reddy government reduced it to one year. The required turnover of the supplier was reduced to Rs 150 crore from the earlier Rs 250 crore. He even asked how can one supply pure ghee at Rs 319 when even palm oil is costlier than that.

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote a letter addressing to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi asking to intervene in the issue. He alleged that CM Chandrababu Naidu stooped too low as to hurt the beliefs of crores of people, purely for political objectives.

“Sir, the entire country looks to you at this crucial juncture. It is very imperative that Mr Naidu be reprimanded in the severest way for his shameless act of spreading lies and the truth be brought to light. Sir, this would help allay the suspicions that Mr Naidu has created in the minds of crores of Hindu devotees and restore their faith in sanctity of TTD,” Jagan wrote in his letter.

Explaining the sequence of events, he stated that the ghee allegedly adulterated, was rejected. It was not allowed to enter the premises of TTD. But, Naidu with malicious intentions has raised the issue at a political party meeting on September 18, 2024.

Pawan Kalyan Vs Prakash Raj:

Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan announced that he will take up a 11-day “Prayashchitta Diksha” at Sri Dashavatara Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Nambur, Guntur district. In an X post, he stated that the Tirumala Laddu prasadam, which is considered to be sacred, has become impure as a result of the depraved tendencies of the past rulers. Contaminated with animal remains. Only open minds can succumb to such sin. Not being able to detect this sin in the beginning is a stain on the Hindu race. "Everyone who believes in Sanatana Dharma should atone for this terrible injustice done to Balaji, the god of Kali Yuga. As part of that, I decided to do a penance. On September 22, 2024, Sunday morning, I will take initiation at Sri Dashavatara Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Nambur, Guntur District. After continuing the initiation for 11 days, I will visit Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy," he added.

In response, actor Prakash Raj urged Pawan, not to escalate the issue at a national-level before identifying and punishing those responsible.

This resulted in a heated exchange of words, leading to a statement by Prakash Raj that he was in a foreign country for shooting and that he will meet Pawan Kalyan for a one-to-one discussion next month.

What does common man think:

While the political parties are blasting each other over the controversy before the common man, the public has several doubts on the issue.

• Why does TTD not announce publicly on their website on how they procure the ingredients used for the prasadam preparations?
• Do they have labs to test the quality of samples of these ingredients as they are received, if so where are the reports?
• Why was a sample sent to NDDB lab in Guajarat in July, when we have so many labs in Hyderabad?
• And why was a lab report that was received in July 2024 made public in September, why was there a delay in announcing the results.
• If the state government has no say in the administration of the Tirumala temple, why were the set standards of qualification of vendors reduced and whose decision was that?

And lastly,

• why does the EO of TTD change whenever the government of the state changes, what is the connection between the government change and TTD EO?

Whatever the intentions behind the issue, devotees of Lord Venkateswara want an explanation and stringent action to be taken on the culprits.