The controversy over the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati’s famous laddus has reached the Supreme Court (SC). The matter will be heard in the country’s top court on Monday. The petitions have been filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) chairman YV Subba Reddy. Subba Reddy is a Rajya Sabha MP from the YSR Congress Party.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had recently alleged that the previous Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government in the state had not even spared the Sri Venkateswara Temple and used substandard ingredients and animal fat to make laddus. . Due to those allegations, a big controversy arose in the country and the sentiments of crores of Hindus were hurt.
Now both Subramanian Swamy and YV Subba Reddy have demanded from the Supreme Court to get this matter investigated under the supervision of the court. The BJP leader, in his public interest litigation (PIL) filed earlier this week, has urged the Supreme Court to direct the Andhra Pradesh government to file a detailed report of the ghee used in making laddus, along with a detailed forensic report. Has asked for.
Citing a lab report from Gujarat, the state government had claimed that traces of beef tallow, fish oil and lard were found in the ghee used to make laddus. “There should have been internal balancing and monitoring to check and verify the quality of the suppliers supplying various items used for making temple offerings,” the plea said.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government has appointed a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case of alleged adulteration of animal fat in the laddus offered at Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirupati. “As part of its commitment to protect the sanctity of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the Andhra Pradesh government has constituted a SIT to conduct a detailed and comprehensive investigation into the entire matter,” Chief Secretary Nirabh Kumar Prasad said in an order issued late Thursday night. It is considered necessary to do so.
TTD is the official custodian of Lord Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati. The Chief Minister had announced on September 22 that the SIT would investigate the allegations of adulteration in laddus. The SIT is headed by Guntur range Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sarvesh Tripathi and other police officers.
