After claiming that the laddus offered to Lord Venkateshwara were made with inferior ingredients during the regime of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) and that “most painfully animal fat was used in place of pure ghee”, Naidu has said that the sentiments of millions of devotees have been hurt on discovering the truth of how the laddus were being prepared before his government came to power in June.
At a public meeting in Prakasam district Friday, Naidu remarked, “When sentiments are hurt and unpardonable mistakes have been committed, should we spare the culprits?” The ministers in his Cabinet and other Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislators made similar statements elsewhere.
However, according to Syamala, who took over as the executive officer of the trust days after the Naidu-led alliance formed the government on 12 June, the ghee said to be contaminated with fish oil, lard and beef tallow, besides other elements like vegetable oils, was supplied in July.
Of the 10 tankers supplied by Tamil Nadu’s AR Dairy, cow ghee in four tankers was found to be of inferior quality based on human sensory perception of TTD experts.
Samples from these four tankers—two of which had arrived on 6 July and the others on 12 July—were collected and sent to National Dairy Development Board’s Centre for Analysis and learning in Livestock and Food (NDDB CALF) in Anand for adulteration tests.
“That ghee was never used, 100 percent,” Syamala told ThePrint Saturday.
The four tankers were kept aside and sent back to AR Dairy after the NDDB CALF report reflected animal and vegetable fat contamination.
Syamala said that of the five agencies supplying ghee to TTD at that time, only the samples collected from AR Dairy tankers were found to be of abnormally low quality.
Addressing a press conference at Tirumala Friday, Syamala had said that the samples were sent to external labs for testing for the “first time in history of TTD”.
YSRCP leaders, including former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, and experts are now questioning Naidu’s claims.
Speaking to media persons Friday, Jagan pointed out that Naidu was at the helm, when the adulterated ghee was supplied, and samples were collected and tested.
He dismissed Naidu’s allegations, saying, “Unfortunately, the CM is making a controversy from a rejected stock’s test report.”
I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, who was Naidu government’s chief secretary during its previous term (2014-2019), said, “If the CM’s claims are based on the rejected lot following the NDDB report, then his allegations of animal fat in Tirupati laddus are unfounded.”
“Unless the government or the TTD have some other solid evidence to support the astonishing charges on YSRCP… If not, the issue might even boomerang on Naidu and TDP,” Krishna told ThePrint.
“Naidu’s allegations seemed like someone wantonly mixed the said animal fat in the ghee in order to hurt Hindu sentiments. I find the claims hard to believe. Is there a proof?” questioned Krishna, who has previously served as TTD’s executive officer and is now inactively associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The sensitive issue should have been handled very delicately, but was used politically,” the retired administrator said.
ThePrint also reached out to Nara Lokesh, Naidu’s son and a minister in his Cabinet, via WhatsApp, asking him about the basis of Naidu’s allegations. This report will be updated as and when a response is received.
Posting a video clip of Naidu’s remarks on X Wednesday, Lokesh had written, “I am shocked to learn that the Jagan administration used animal fat instead of ghee in the Tirupati Prasadam. Shame on Jagan and the YSRCP government that couldn’t respect the religious sentiments of crores of devotees.”
‘Foul play or cost cutting?’
Former civil servant Krishna, however, said that there should be an investigation into how AR Dairy was picked as the supplier, and how and where the adulteration took place.
“Was there interference from a higher level to favour the agency or was it selected as per the procedure? That is also a big question!” he remarked.
BJP and TDP leaders have alleged that some agencies were favoured by the YSRCP government over the Karnataka Milk Federation Nandini—which was the ghee supplier earlier—in expectation of commissions.
On Friday, TTD’s Syamala said that AR Dairy was supplying ghee at Rs 320 per kg, the least price among the five suppliers at the point. Quality cow ghee in the open market costs Rs 500 and upwards, he added.
According to him, fresh tenders for cow ghee supply were called in March, AR Dairy was finalised on 8 May and the order was placed on 15 May, when YSRCP was in power and party legislator Bhumana Karunakar Reddy was the TTD board chairman.
It was also the time when the Lok Sabha and assembly elections were taking place simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh.
However, the firm supplied ghee in June and July until the adulteration was detected. This was when the TDP-led alliance, comprising Janasena Party and Bharatiya Janata Party, had taken over.
A top TTD official, who served during Jagan’s tenure, told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity, “It is not me or the YSRCP regime, but the system followed at TTD that selected the said supplier based on its merits, technical and financial parameter qualifications. If the agency committed some blunder, like adulteration of ghee now, it is the duty and responsibility of the present-day officials and machinery to detect and take action. Why drag us into it?”
“I do not want to comment further as it has become political,” said the former official.
The management of AR Dairy has denied the allegations and said that they are challenging the report in a response to TTD.
“While the total daily ghee requirement at Tirupati is over 10 tonnes, we have not even supplied 0.1 percent of it. Whatever ghee we sent was NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and AGMARK certified. I hope/think it is a political issue,” Rajasekaran Raju, AR Dairy’s managing director, told a news channel.
Another aspect that the YSRCP has highlighted is that on the day of the NDDB analysis report—23 July—Syamala Rao had told the media that ghee in some batches was found to be adulterated with vegetable fats like vanaspati.
“The official had clarified that one of the five suppliers was at fault. Despite this, Naidu politicised the issue, falsely accusing the previous government and turning it into a controversy,” read a message, accompanying a video clip of Syamala’s statement purportedly from 23 July, shared by YSRCP functionaries with reporters on WhatsApp.
When ThePrint asked Syamala about it, the officer said, “We lack experts at TTD to interpret the S values, etc. in the report. We took some time to decipher it, talking to experts, while also concentrating on measures to get good suppliers.”
“What is the interpretation being made if (the entire report) was not revealed that day? That it has been tampered with? Can a report of such a reputed lab be tampered with?” he remarked.
He added that for “reasons unknown”, a sophisticated lab to detect contaminations and adulterations of ghee and other ingredients was never set up at Tirumala. Gujarat-based NDDB has now come forward to set up a Rs 75 lakh lab as their offering to Lord Venkateshwara.
Retired officer Krishna said that it is a legacy issue, as there has been no lab from the time of “Chenna Reddy to now Chandrababu”.
“Till government agencies, like Andhra’s Vijaya and Karnataka’s Nandini. were the suppliers of ghee or other milk products, there was no issue. Now, with all the focus on TTD procurements, it should also be revealed why private players were roped in, and under whose tenure,” he told ThePrint.
The Union health ministry has sought a report on the laddu controversy from the Naidu government. Health Minister J.P. Nadda told reporters in New Delhi that the matter would be examined by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for suitable action.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Y.V. Subba Reddy, Jagan’s uncle, who served as TTD chairman for two consecutive terms between 2019 and 2023, has filed a public interest litigation in Andhra Pradesh High Court, seeking a judicial probe into Naidu’s allegations.
Ramana Deekshitulu, a former chief priest at the Tirumala temple, claimed that he had complained about the deteriorated quality of laddus and other prasadams in the past, but instead of rectifying the issue, the then government targeted him.
Deekshitulu said that TTD should now conduct samprokshana or purification rituals at the temple in consultation with Agama Shastra experts.
On Friday, the chief minister held a review meeting on the issue of adulteration at the secretariat and said that his government would preserve Tirupati-Tirumala sanctity in consultation with Vedic, Agama Shastra and dharmic scholars. He asked TTD executive officer Syamala Rao to submit a report on the matter and other such lapses at the Tirupati temple immediately.
Telangana BJP leader and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay said that the “despicable act” of adding animal fat was “a plot to diminish the prasadam and Tirupati temple’s significance”. He also accused the Jagan government of neglecting the TTD.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Y.S. Sharmila, while questioning Naidu on why the matter was revealed after his government completed 100 days, demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged adulteration.
Reacting on the raging issue, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan pitched for the constitution of a ‘Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board’ at the national level to look into all the issues related to temples across the country.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: Naidu’s ‘animal fat’ in Tirupati laddu claim sets off political row, YSRCP denies allegation
