In its first reaction to the laddoo controversy, the Tirupati Temple Trust on Friday said it would soon take legal action in the case. The trust also said the samples of the prasad were adulterated.
Addressing the media, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer J Syamala Rao today said, “A good laddoo is made only with pure cow ghee. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had expressed his wishes clearly. Upon his instructions, we closely examined the samples and warned those flouting the norms. We threatened to blacklist them at first.”
“The samples sent for testing were highly adulterated and we will soon take legal action,” he added.
This comes after Naidu on Wednesday claimed that animal fat was used for making laddoos at the Tirupati temple during the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy government, triggering a massive political row. Later, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) accused Naidu of indulging in “heinous allegations” for political gains.
“Tirumala Venkateshwara Swamy is the most revered site for Hindus. Every Hindu aspires to have a darshan of the Swamy at least once,” the Trust official said.
“After I was posted as the executive officer at the TTD by the new government, the new Chief Minister always expressed his concern over the poor quality of laddoos and of the ghee. Chandrababu Naidu received feedback after many people complained to him about animal fats in the prasad,” the official said.
Referring to the Gujarat-based livestock laboratory report, which allegedly confirmed adulteration in the prasad, the official said, “The TTD does not have its own labs to do adulteration tests, but it has been associated with private labs that are enabled with NABL testing norms, but we noticed that testing wasn’t done properly even in those private labs.”
“Pure ghee is expensive, but cheap-rated ghee was used by the previous administration. It is understood everywhere that the cheaper the cost, the poorer the quality. That was the case here,” he added.
Speaking about Raaj Milk – AR Dairy Food Private Limited in Tamil Nadu, a company that supplied ghee to Tirupati temple, the official said, “All existing suppliers, except AR Dairy, complied with our instructions.”
“Four of their trucks were inspected on July 6 and 12 after which we immediately sent their samples to a different laboratory outside for the first time. Later, the abnormalities were exposed by the laboratory in Gujarat’s Anand,” he said.
“The parameters in the laboratory report clearly show violations, the samples were highly adulterated,” the official said.
“The Lard (pig fat) content came up to 116. It should be below 102. Palm oil and beef tallow combined came to 23.2 because it was contaminated with various kinds of animal fats. Thus we immediately blacklisted them. Penalties will also be imposed and due legal process is also being followed,” he said.
Further, the Trust official said the laboratory has also volunteered to set up adulteration testing kits, and that the temple authorities were also mulling developing sensory labs to ensure this never repeats.
