Beef fat, pork fat used in prasad in temple town of Tirupati
HYDERABAD: Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has criticised his rival YSR Congress predecessor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy over a laboratory report that found animal fat in ghee used to make laddus offered as prasad in the temple town of Tirupati.
The July 17 report of the Centre for Livestock and Food Analysis and Studies or CALF, a laboratory of the Centre-run National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat, released on Wednesday, said animal fat was found in ghee used to make the famous Tirupati laddus when the YSRCP was in power. The report indicated that the ghee contained traces of fish oil, beef fat and lard. The last is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by melting the fatty tissue of pigs.
“Even the Tirupati laddus were made with substandard ingredients… they used animal fat instead of ghee,” the chief minister said at a legislature party meeting in Amaravati a day earlier. He declared that his government has ensured that high-quality ingredients, including ghee, are now being used and all food offerings at the iconic temple are now of better quality.Mr Naidu’s son and Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh also joined the attack. “Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala is our holiest temple. I am shocked to know that the Jagan Mohan Reddy administration used animal fat instead of ghee… they should be ashamed… (their) government could not respect the religious sentiments of crores of devotees.”
“We did not think they would do this to Tirupati,” said Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, who hails from the TDP. The NDDB itself has confirmed the presence of animal fat. It is shocking and disgusting. The government will get to the bottom of it.”
However, the YSRCP has accused the TDP of lying for political gains, calling it “malicious”. The party also said that in fact Mr Naidu himself had harmed the sanctity of the temple and crores of devotees by making such derogatory remarks.YSRCP’s YV Subba Reddy wrote in Telugu on X that “it has been proved once again that Chandrababu (Naidu) will not hesitate to do anything wrong for political gains”.
Meanwhile, the Congress has also hit out at the YSR Congress. The former chief minister’s sister, who is now the head of the Congress’ state unit, has demanded a high-level CBI probe. She said in Telugu on X that the claim was “harming the sanctity of the deity worshipped by millions of Hindus”. “If there is no political angle to your allegations… if you have no intention of politicising the issue… then form a high-level committee or demand a CBI probe. Find out who is responsible,” he said. “The Congress demands that you find out the truth.
(Bureau Report with Media Inputs).
