Animal fat in Tirupati laddoos? Could upset lakhs of people

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s claim that animal fat was used to make Tirupati laddoos under the previous the YSR Congress government, has potential to hurt the religious sentiments of lakhs of people.

In case the claim is established, it could upset a large number of people worldwide.

Responding to allegations strongly, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led party denounced the remark terming it malicious.

“Chandrababu Naidu has severely damaged the sanctity of Tirumala and the faith of crores of Hindus. His comments about the Tirumala prasad are extremely malicious. No person would speak such words or make such accusations,” Reddy said in a Telugu post on X.

He also assured the devotees by saying that he was ready to take oath in the name of the lord that there was nothing as has been alleged.

“….To strengthen the faith of the devotees, I, along with my family, am ready to take an oath before the almighty regarding the Tirumala ‘prasad’. Is Chandrababu Naidu willing to do the same with his family,” he asked.
Naidu made the comment while addressing an NDA legislative party meeting on Wednesday.

“In the past 5 years, YSR Congress party leaders have tarnished the sanctity of Tirumala. They compromised on the quality of ‘Annadanam’ (free meals) and even contaminated the sacred Tirumala Laddu by using animal fat instead of ghee. This revelation has caused concern.

However, we are now using pure ghee. We are striving to protect the sanctity of the TTD,” Naidu was quoted as saying in the reports.

The historical richest temple, which is managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), has a large number of visitors from various countries and India every year.