National Controversy Tirupati Balaji Laddu Prasad; N Chandrababu Naidu | TDP vs YSRCP
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.
Amid the controversy over the sanctity of the laddus at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple (Tirupati Temple) in Andhra Pradesh, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) temple management has declared that the prasadam is now completely pure and sacred. We are also committed to continuing this approach.
On the other hand, J Shyamala Rao, managing director of TTD, admitted that animal fat was used in ghee. On Friday, September 20, he told the press conference that this was confirmed in 4 laboratory reports on the ghee samples from which the laddus was made. Rao said the temple management did not have its own laboratory. The ghee supplier, AR Dairy Foods, took advantage of this.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, officials from the Food Safety Department of the central and state governments visited the AR Dairy Foods factory in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, to investigate.
Former President Ramnath Kovind said in Varanasi, “Last evening, some of my colleagues had gone to see Baba Vishwanath Dham. When Baba gave me prasadam at night, the Tirumala incident came to my mind. I felt a little upset. Such falsification can occur in all places of pilgrimage. According to the Hindu religion, this is a great sin. This should be properly investigated.
Where did the Prasadam controversy happen?
Supreme Court: Lawyer Satyam Singh filed a petition in the Supreme Court. This is a violation of the fundamental principles of Hindu religious customs. The court should take immediate notice of it.
High Court: “YSR moves High Court over fat in Laddu dispute”. Jagan Reddy’s party has demanded an inquiry into the matter under the supervision of a sitting judge. The next hearing in this case will take place on September 25.
Ministry of Health: The health ministry has sought a report from the Andhra Pradesh government. Health Minister JP Nadda said, “I spoke to CM Chandrababu Naidu. The Prasad (Laddus) of the temple will be examined.
CBI Investigation Request: The TDP, Congress and BJP have demanded a CBI probe into the matter. However, the central government is yet to forward this case to the investigating agency.
How did this controversy arise… The Karnataka Cooperative Milk Federation (KMF) had been supplying ghee to the trust at concessional rates for the past 50 years. 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 (YSRCP) government gave the supply work to 5 companies. One of them is AR Dairy Foods based in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. In the product of which a defect was noted in July this year.
TDP government arrived, sample tested in July, grease confirmed The TDP government had appointed senior IAS officer J Shyamala Rao as the new director general of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in June 2024.
He ordered to check the quality of Prasadam (Laddus). A committee was formed for this purpose. The committee made many suggestions to improve the taste and quality of Prasad. We have also sent samples of ghee to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Gujarat, for analysis. Fat was mentioned in the report released in July.
After this, TTD returned the stock of ghee sent by Dindigul, Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy Foods and blacklisted the contractor. After this, TTD started purchasing ghee from the Karnataka Milk Federation.
The ghee was purchased from the previous supplier at a rate of Rs 320 per kg. While Tirupati Trust now purchases ghee from the Karnataka Cooperative Milk Federation (KMF) at the rate of Rs 475 per kg.
NDDB CALF, a laboratory that tests the purity of ghee, has agreed to donate a machine to Tirupati to test the purity of ghee. Its cost is Rs 75 lakh.
Amul said: never supplied ghee to Tirupati temple Meanwhile, amid the adulteration controversy in Tirupati Laddu, dairy company Amul has also given clarification. The company released a statement on social media on Friday claiming that it had never supplied ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).
It is said in some social media posts that Amul Ghee was provided in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TDD). We would like to inform that we have never supplied Amul Ghee to Tirupati temple. We would also like to clarify that Amul Ghee is manufactured from milk in our state-of-the-art, ISO certified production facilities. Amul Ghee is made from high quality pure milk fat.
CM Naidu made the lab report public, controversy intensified The report published in July had confirmed the presence of fat in the laddus. However, TDP made the report public after two months. CM Naidu had claimed on September 18 that during the erstwhile Jagan government, animal fat and fish oil were mixed in the ghee used for laddus in the Tirupati temple. TDP also claimed to have confirmed his allegations by showing a laboratory report.
Naidu said that when ghee was available in the market at Rs 500 per kg, the Jagan government was selling it at Rs 320. I bought a kilo of ghee. In such a situation, the ghee must have been adulterated by the supplier. There will be an investigation into the purchase of cheap ghee by the Jagan government. The sanctity of the Tirupati temple has been tainted by laddus made from ghee containing animal fat.
2 major statements on the Prasadam issue…
Now the time has come to constitute the “Sanatan Dharma Raksha Council” at the national level to look into all issues related to temples.
Pawan Kalyan, Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh
The news of the desecration of the Prasad in the Venkateswara temple is disturbing. This development will harm all the faithful. This requires careful consideration. Temple managements across the country should protect the sanctity of religious places.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha
A protest took place in Bhopal on Friday following an investigation into the presence of animal fat in the laddus of the Tirupati temple.
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.
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Tirupati Laddu controversy: UP MP Keshav says – We will also carry out the investigation, says Ayodhya MP Awadhesh – BJP has expertise in spreading rumours.
The controversy over the sanctity of the Laddu Prasadam temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh is gaining momentum. Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, who reached Ayodhya, said, “I am also a devotee of Lord Ramlala and Tirupati Balaji. If such an incident occurs at a pilgrimage site, the government will take strict action. We will also take care of this in Uttar Pradesh. If anyone did this, it was wrong and legal action should be taken against them.