YSRCP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has urged devotees across the state to participate in special poojas on Saturday, September 28, to restore the sanctity of the Tirumala Tirupati temple. Reddy accused Chandrababu Naidu of tarnishing the temple’s image by falsely claiming that animal fat was used in preparing its sacred laddu prasadam.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Reddy wrote, “Chandrababu Naidu has defiled the sanctity of Tirumala with false claims about the laddu prasadam. We will perform special poojas statewide on September 28 to purify the temple from Naidu’s sins.”
The controversy began when Naidu alleged that animal fat was used in the famous laddus offered at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. According to Reddy, Naidu’s politically motivated accusations misled devotees and harmed the temple’s reputation. Reddy emphasized that Naidu’s claims hurt the religious sentiments of millions of devotees who believe in the sanctity of the prasadam.
Naidu had raised concerns about the quality of the laddus, alleging the use of substandard ghee adulterated with beef oil and lard. However, the YSR Congress Party refuted these claims, stating that no low-quality ghee had ever been supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Reddy called for intervention in the matter, affirming that TTD had followed all necessary protocols and that Naidu’s claims were baseless. “The strict practices at TTD over the years ensured that the questionable quality ghee was not used. Yet, Mr. Naidu maliciously alleged that animal fat was used instead of ghee in the preparation of the sacred laddus,” Reddy stated in his letter.
