Devotees arrived for darshan on Friday after the Prasadam controversy at the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh.
Controversy is intensifying regarding the sanctity and purity of Tirupati’s Laddu Prasadam temple. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh has made two demands in 2 days. Making a fresh allegation, the Naidu government said that apart from fatty ghee, beef, pork fat and fish oil were mixed in the Prasad. This was also confirmed in the laboratory report.
Earlier on September 18, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu had said that over the last 5 years, YSRCP leaders had tarnished the sanctity of Tirumala. However, no official statement has come from the temple administration. 3.50 lakh laddus are prepared daily in the 300-year-old kitchen of the Tirupati temple. Tirumala Trust earns Rs 500 crore per year from Prasadam.
Lab report received July 17. Since then, this report has been in the public domain, but it has not been officially confirmed. Neither the name of the issuing organization nor the place where the samples were tested are mentioned in the report. On the other hand, TTD has formed a four-member special committee to monitor the quality of ghee.
3.50 lakh laddus are prepared every day in Tirupati temple.
TDP allegations, laboratory report made public in 3 days
September 19: TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy made the lab report public at a press conference on Thursday, September 19. He informed that the sample was sent to Gujarat based breeding laboratory, NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) CALF Limited (Centre for Animal Husbandry and Feed Analysis and Learning) on July 9, 2024 .
TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy made the lab report public on Thursday.
September 18: Andhra Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu had on Wednesday (September 18) accused the previous YSRCP government led by Jagan Mohan Reddy of mixing animal fat in Tirupati Prasad. He said the Jagan Mohan government had violated the sanctity of Prasadam. We are working hard to protect the sanctity of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). Naidu said the contract with the company from which the ghee was purchased was blacklisted. The investigation into the matter was entrusted to Vigilance. The company received the call for tenders only a year ago. At the same time, Sharmila, Congress leader and sister of Jagan Mohan, demanded a CBI probe.September 17: On July 17 this year, CALF, the food laboratory of the National Dairy Development Board, reported that ghee made from animal fat and fish oil was used in Tirumala laddus. During investigation, a company’s ghee was found to be adulterated. After this, in July, EO J. Shyamala Rao held a meeting and sent the laddus samples to the laboratory.
Who said what about the Prasadam controversy
This is a direct attack on our cultural and religious heritage, which should not be tolerated. – T. Raja, Telangana BJP MP
‘Sanatan Dharma Raksha Council’ should be formed at national level to look after all issues related to temples across India – Pawan Kalyan, Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh.
The Jagan government had given the task of supplying ghee to 5 companies in July 2023. For the last 50 years, the Karnataka Cooperative Milk Federation (KMF) was supplying ghee to the Trust at concessional rates. Every six months, 1,400 tonnes of ghee are used in the temple. In July 2023, the company refused to supply at a lower rate, after which the Jagan government assigned the supply work to 5 companies. The Andhra Pradesh government again handed over the work of supplying ghee to KMF on August 29. KMF supplies Nandini brand desi ghee.
300 year old cuisine, only Brahmins earn 3.5 lakh laddus
In the Tirupati temple, around 200 Brahmins prepare laddus with pure ghee in a 300-year-old kitchen.
Tirupati Temple is one of the most popular and richest religious places in the world. Every day, around 70,000 devotees visit Lord Venkateswara Swamy here. Its administration is carried out by Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD).
In the 300-year-old ‘Potu’ kitchen built within the temple premises, 3.50 lakh laddus are prepared daily using pure desi ghee. This is the main prasad of the temple, performed by around 200 Brahmins. Laddu contains pure gram flour, boondi, sugar, cashew nuts and pure ghee. The Trust had sent around one lakh laddus to Ayodhya at the time of the consecration of the Ram temple.