The Supreme Court is set to hear two petitions on September 30 concerning allegations of the use of animal fat in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) prasadam, famously known as Tirupati laddus. The petitions were filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and former TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy, who are seeking an investigation into the controversial claims.
The issue revolves around allegations that substandard ingredients, including animal fat, were used in the preparation of the laddus, which are offered as prasadam at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati. These claims originated during the previous government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Subramanian Swamy filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court requesting a probe into the unverified allegations made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Swamy claimed that Naidu’s accusations of animal fat and other substandard items being used in the laddus caused significant unrest among devotees.
In a separate plea, YV Subba Reddy, a Rajya Sabha member, has called for an independent investigation by a retired Supreme Court judge to thoroughly examine the matter.
The controversy began when CM Chandrababu Naidu accused the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government of using animal fat in the Tirupati laddus. This claim led to a heated political exchange, with Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party dismissing the accusations as politically motivated and intended to tarnish their image.
Amid the political dispute, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) circulated a laboratory report that allegedly supported their claims. Following this, on September 20, TTD Executive Officer J Shyamala Rao confirmed in a press conference that lab tests had found traces of animal fat and lard in some samples. TTD is reportedly in the process of blacklisting the contractor responsible for supplying the adulterated ghee used in the laddus.
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