New Delhi: After stirring controversy in the political landscape for over a week, the issue regarding the alleged use of animal fat in the preparation of the renowned Tirupati laddoos is set to be addressed by the Supreme Court on Monday. The petitions have been submitted by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and former chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), YV Subba Reddy, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from the YSR Congress Party.
The party has faced scrutiny since Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed last week that animal fat was utilised in the making of the popular laddoos, which are distributed as ‘prasad’ at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, during the previous YSR Congress administration led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, an NDTV report said.
Calls for court-supervised probe intensify
Both Swamy and YV Subba Reddy have called for a court-supervised investigation into the allegations. In his Public Interest Litigation (PIL) submitted earlier this week, the BJP leader urged the Supreme Court to instruct the Andhra Pradesh government to provide a comprehensive report on the ghee utilized in the preparation of the laddoos, along with a detailed forensic analysis. The state government had referred to a report from a laboratory in Gujarat, which indicated that the ghee used in the laddoos contained traces of beef tallow, fish oil and lard (pig fat).
“There ought to have been checks and balances internally to supervise and verify and check the quality or the lack of it, of the suppliers supplying various ingredients to the temple which go into the making of the prasad,” the petition said.
Tirupati Laddu row
Controversy erupted after the alleged use of animal-derived ingredients, specifically beef tallow, fish oil and lard (pig fat), in the preparation of laddus)at the famous Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. The controversy began when a laboratory report from Gujarat suggested traces of animal-derived ingredients in the ghee used in laddu preparation. It sparked outrage among Hindu devotees, as the temple’s sanctity and adherence to vegetarian principles were questioned.
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