Amaravati, Sep 19 (IANS): Denying the allegations of adulteration in ghee used for preparing Tirumala laddu, YSR Congress Party MP and former chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Y. V. Subba Reddy on Thursday offered to swear at the feet of deity to prove his honesty and challenged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to do the same.
Day after Chandrababu Naidu accused the previous YSRCP government of using animal fat in making the Tirupati Laddu, Subba Reddy said Naidu’s remarks about sacred ‘Prasadam’ were very offensive and hurt the feelings of Hindus worldwide.
The Rajya Sabha member said that no political leader in the country would behave in such a disrespectful way about the holy laddu. He offered to swear with his family at the feet of the deity to prove his honesty and challenged Naidu to do the same with his family.
The YSRCP leader also warned that he would take legal action, including a defamation suit, and was ready to go to the Supreme Court if needed to protect the sentiments of the devotees.
The former TTD chairman claimed that TTD maintained the highest standards in preparing Naivedyam and Prasadam from 2019 to 2024, and also improved the quality compared to before 2019.
He denied Naidu's claims of adulteration clarifying that TTD used only pure cow ghee and organic products for the Prasadam. He mentioned that they sourced 60 kilograms of ghee daily from a dairy in Fatehpur, Rajasthan, with donor support. This cost around Rs 10 crore over three years, fully covered by donors. TTD also brought 550 native cows from Rajasthan and Gujarat to their Goshalas and set up a plant to produce ghee locally.
Subba Reddy said that the ghee used for Laddu preparation was tested in the laboratory before use, and more than 10 tankers of substandard ghee were rejected and sent back in the previous government. He further mentioned that TTD modernised the laboratory with assistance from the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore.
The MP said that Naidu's allegations were politically motivated and aimed at personal gain. He stated that Naidu’s irresponsible remarks were an insult to the sentiments of millions of devotees. He added that they would pursue legal action against Naidu's false claim of Rs 520 crore embezzlement in TTD.