The controversy surrounding adulterated ghee supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) continues to escalate. Days after making claims that the famous ‘prasadam’ contained animal fat, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday announced that the temple will undergo a ‘Shuddhikaran Pooja’ on Monday.
Meanwhile, public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court requesting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into allegations that animal fat was used in the preparation of the famous Tirupati laddus. The petitioner, Surjit Singh Yadav, a farmer and president of the Hindu Sena, raised concerns about the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), accusing it of disrespecting Hindu sentiments by using animal fat instead of ghee in the “laddu prasadam.”
Yadav’s plea claimed that the use of animal fat in the sacred laddus has deeply disturbed the Hindu community, calling the allegations a violation of their religious beliefs. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is the custodian of the Sri Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh, which serves the prasadam to millions of devotees.
“The petition has been filed for the benefit of the public in general, who may be incapable of accessing the court themselves on account of being not fully/properly equipped, financially as well as legally, and thus, in no position to resort to the remedy of ‘Public Interest Litigation’,” the plea has said.
TTD Executive Officer Shyamala Rao submitting a preliminary report to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said that the companies supplying ghee to TTD have been warned in advance due to complaints from devotees about Tirumala Laddu Prasad. Though some companies responded immediately and corrected themselves, he alleged that the AR Dairy Food Private Limited Company continued supplying low quality ghee.
He said that as a result they suspected that substandard tankers had been sent and conducted tests secretly. It has been revealed that the entire supply from that company has been stopped after it was found in the reports that animal fat had been mixed. However, the same company is not disputing with the TTD’s lab reports and claiming nothing wrong with the ghee supplied by them.