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Union Minister JP Nadda addresses a press conference, in Rajkot, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
While addressing a press conference on the first 100 days of the Modi government’s third term, Nadda said: “I got to know about the issue through social media. I spoke to Chandrababu Naidu today and asked him to send the entire report.”
Nadda said that the issue will be examined after the report is submitted.
Trust temple issues first reaction to the incident
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the trust that manages the temple, confirmed Naidu’s allegations. TTD Executive Officer Shyamal Rao said: “The test result indicated though sample appears to be ghee, it was not.” He said that a lab value indicated the sample was adulterated with Lard (pig fat).
The row erupted after Naidu, on Wednesday, alleged that during Jaganmohan Reddy government regime, the ladoos at the Hindu temple were made using substandard quality of ghee, which contained animal fat.
Since the incident, Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party has been sharing a purported lab report, which confirms the adulteration in ghee samples provided by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). Notably, the TTD manages the temple.
Heinous allegation: YSRCP
To be clear, neither the Andhra government nor TTD has officially confirmed the details of the report, which Reddy’s YSRCP party labelled as a “heinous allegation”.
The report was made by a Gujarat-based livestock laboratory. It says that the adulterated ghee contained ‘beef tallow’, lard and fish oil, sending shockwaves in Andhra politics. YSRCP slammed Naidu for trying to target the Opposition for political gains.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the party said: “Lawyers on behalf of the YSR Congress party mentioned in the High Court Bench on the allegations made by CM Naidu…” The party is seeking the court to set up a committee to investigate these claims.
Earlier, Food Minister Prahlad Joshi had also called a probe into the matter. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress said that the issue has anguished Hindus.
First Published: Sep 20 2024 | 3:37 PM IST
