Tirupati: BJP leader and former TTD Board Member, Bhanuprakash Reddy, condemned the alleged use of beef fat, pig fat and fish oil in consecrated sweets–‘Tirupati Prasadam’ at Sri Venkateswara Temple and said that they will file a complaint against the previous YSRCP government that was led by former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Bhanuprakash said that during the tenure of Jagan Mohan Reddy, from 2019 to 2024, TTD used pure cow ghee to prepare laddu, which was adulterated later.
“After Balaji darshan, pilgrims used to have that laddu–the prasad of Balaji. During the tenure of Jagan Mohan Reddy, from 2019 to 2024, TTD used pure cow ghee to prepare laddu. For this, 14 tonnes of cow ghee was used daily for making laddu prasadam. Unfortunately, that was adulterated. We got a report that vegetable oil and animal fat were mixed in it,” the BJP leader told ANI.
“It is a very bad thing that happened in the history of Tirumala. We are very sad and we condemn the issue. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government wantedly damaged the sentiment of Hindu pilgrims, especially Balaji’s devotees. We are filing a complaint against Jagan Mohan Reddy, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, Y.V. Subba Reddy and the then Executive Officer Dharma Reddy. Right now, we are using pure cow ghee for making laddu prasadam,” he added.
Earlier, a spokesperson of the ruling TDP shared a copy of the “lab report” and alleged that “beef tallow and animal fat–lard, and fish oil–were used in the preparation of ghee, which was supplied to Tirumala.”
TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy said on Thursday that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu “had stated yesterday that animal fat was used as one of the ingredients for the preparation of ghee, which was supplied to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.”
“The lab reports of samples which were sent for testing to National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat certify that beef tallow and animal fat, lard, and fish oil were used in the preparation of ghee which was supplied to Tirumala and also the S value is only 19.7…This is an affront to Hindu religion…The ‘prasadam’ which is offered to the Bhagwan thrice a day has been mixed with this ghee..,” Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy alleged.
“We hope that justice will be done and Bhagwan Govind will forgive us for whatever mistakes have been committed,” he added. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu made a startling allegation on Wednesday and alleged that the previous YSR Congress-led by Jagan Mohan Reddy had used animal fat in consecrated sweets–‘Tirupati Prasadam’ instead of ‘Ghee’ at Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati.
In a post on X, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh shared a video clip of his father, CM Naidu, addressing a gathering and wrote, “The Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Tirumala is our most sacred temple. I am shocked to learn that the ysjagan administration used animal fat instead of ghee in the Tirupati Prasadam.”
“Shame on YS Jagan and the YSR party government that couldn’t respect the religious sentiments of crores of devotees,” he said.
The Tirupati temple is devoted to Bhagwan Venkateswara, a manifestation of Bhagwan Vishnu who is believed to have come to earth to deliver humanity from the trials and tribulations of the Kali Yuga. As a result, the location has been given the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntha, and the deity is known as Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam.
The NDA alliance, including the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena (JS), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came to power in Andhra Pradesh earlier this year following a landslide victory in the assembly polls. The alliance ousted the YSCRP government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (With inputs from ANI)
