Members of the Andhra Pradesh Hindu Sadhu Parishad on Tuesday held a protest outside Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) administrative building in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh over the alleged adulteration in the ghee used to make “Laddu Prasadam”.
The Hindu Sadhu Parishad members demanded action against those involved in the alleged adulteration of laddu prasadam.
The President of Andhra Pradesh Sadhu Parishad, Swami Srinivasananda Saraswati, accused former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy of treating the Tirumala Kshetra as a business centre and not as a pilgrim centre.
“In the previous government, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, he did a lot of ‘Apcharas’….He impured the sanctity of Lord Venkateshwara…He never respected the sentiments of Hindus…,” Swami Srinivasananda Saraswati said.
The laddu prasadam controversy erupted after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged that lab reports have revealed traces of animal fat, including beef tallow, in the ghee used in Tirupati laddu prasadam.
CM Naidu stated that the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government cancelled the tender of Karnataka’s Nandini brand and gave the contract of ghee supply to AR Dairy Ltd.
The ghee supplied by the AR Dairy limited allegedly contained animal fat and fish oil. Naidu further accused Reddy of hurting the religious sentiment of Hindus.
Reddy, however, dismissed the allegations and accused Naidu of indulging in politics using religion. The YSRCP leader also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to reprimand Naidu over the issue.
Meanwhile, the food department officials raided the factory of the ghee supplier. The FSSAI has also issued a show cause notice to the Tamil Nadu-based ghee supplier firm.