Tirupati laddus contain ‘beef tallow’: TDP shows ‘lab report’ after Andhra Pradesh CM’s claim; YSRCP reacts | 10 updates

Tirupati Temple Laddus Row: TDP circulated the lab report to support Chandrababu Naidu’s alleged “heinous allegations,” while YSRCP accused him of making them.

A massive political row erupted in Andhra Pradesh after chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that animal fat was used in Tirupati temple laddus during the previous YSRCP government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Amid the controversy, the ruling Telugu Desam Party stated on Thursday that a livestock laboratory in Gujarat had confirmed the adulteration. At a press conference, TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy showed the alleged lab report, which reportedly verified that “beef tallow” was present in the provided ghee sample, according to news agency PTI.

N Chandrababu Naidu claimed on Wednesday that the laddus offered at the Tirupati shrine contained “animal fat” rather than ghee.

10 updates on Tirupati laddus row:

1. While the TDP disseminated the lab report to support the claim, the YSRCP charged that Chandrababu Naidu was engaging in “heinous allegations” for political advantage.
2. Naidu stated that the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government used inferior ingredients and animal fat to make laddus and did not even spare the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati during an NDA legislative party meeting on Wednesday.
3. Speaking on behalf of the TDP, Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy asserted that the adulteration had been verified by a livestock laboratory in Gujarat using ghee samples that were given by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the organization in charge of overseeing the well-known Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
4. The alleged lab report also stated that the samples contained “lard,” which is pig fat, and fish oil. The lab report was dated July 16 and the sample was received on July 9, 2024.
5. But according to PTI, neither the Andhra Pradesh government nor the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), who oversee the well-known Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, have provided an official confirmation of the lab report.
6. The lab —The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Anand, Gujarat, operates the multidisciplinary CALF (Centre for Analysis and learning in Livestock & Food) analytical laboratory.
7. Although he acknowledged that the sanitization process has already started, Chandrababu Naidu claimed on Thursday that the previous YSRCP government had desecrated Tirumala.
8. Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh responded to the news by pointing out that the lab reports unequivocally showed that lard, beef fat, and fish oil were used to make laddus.
9. Bharatiya Janata Party, an ally of the TDP, also called for legal action. The sentiment of the Hindu community has been hurt, according to K Laxman, president of the BJP OBC Morcha, in an interview with ANI. The sacred laddu prasadam was allegedly made with “beef fat and fish oil” during the previous YSR Congress government, according to Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh. This is a direct attack on our rich cultural and religious heritage, which cannot and should not be tolerated.
10. YV Subba Reddy, a senior YSRCP leader and Rajya Sabha member who chaired TTD for four years, observed that Naidu’s accusations had damaged the devotees’ feelings and called into question the deity’s sacred status. It is inconceivable to even suggest that the laddus given to devotees and the consecrated food offered to the deity contained animal fat. Reddy was quoted by PTI as saying, “There is no other heinous attempt than alleging that animal fat was being used.”