The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has strongly criticised the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, accusing it of indulging in “political propaganda” over allegations of animal fat being used in the Tirupati laddu during the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government, thereby hurting Hindu sentiments.
The YSRCP’s remarks come in the wake of findings by a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The SIT confirmed that while the ghee used in the Tirupati laddu prasadam was adulterated, there was no evidence of animal fat such as beef tallow or lard being present.
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According to the 219-page chargesheet filed by the SIT along with supporting annexures, the adulterated ghee supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) between 2019 and 2024 was not derived from cow’s milk. Instead, the accused dairy firm had allegedly manufactured the ghee artificially using palm kernel oil, palm oil and palm stearin.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams administers the revered Shri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirupati, where the laddu is distributed as sacred prasadam to devotees.
In September 2024, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had made a sensational claim that ghee supplied by certain dairies to the TTD during the YSRCP government contained animal fat. The SIT’s findings, however, contradict those allegations, prompting the YSRCP to demand accountability for what it termed as misleading claims made for political gain.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
