Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has made the shocking allegation that during the previous YSR Congress-run government, pig fat was utilised to create Tirupati laddoos. The party led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has denied the accusation and called it slanderous.
Speaking at a meeting of the NDA legislative party on Wednesday, Mr. Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party, which formed an alliance with the Jana Sena and the BJP to win Andhra Pradesh in June, claimed that animal fat was utilised to make the popular laddoos known as “prasad” that were served at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati during the Jagan Reddy administration. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) are in charge of overseeing the temple.
“In the past 5 years, YSR Congress party leaders have tarnished the sanctity of Tirumala. They compromised on the quality of ‘Annadanam’ (free meals) and even contaminated the sacred Tirumala Laddu by using animal fat instead of ghee. This revelation has caused concern. However, we are now using pure ghee. We are striving to protect the sanctity of the TTD,” Mr Naidu said in Telugu.
Senior YSR Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP YV Subba Reddy accused Mr Naidu of damaging the sanctity of the Tirumala shrine.
“Chandrababu Naidu has severely damaged the sanctity of Tirumala and the faith of crores of Hindus. His comments about the Tirumala prasad are extremely malicious. No person would speak such words or make such accusations,” Mr Reddy wrote in Telugu on X.
“It has been proven again that Chandrababu Naidu will stoop to any level for political gain. To strengthen the faith of the devotees, I, along with my family, am ready to take an oath before the almighty regarding the Tirumala ‘prasad’. Is Chandrababu Naidu willing to do the same with his family,” he asked.
