New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS): Amid the raging controversy over 'adulteration' of Tirupati prasadam with animal fat and intense political bickering, the Congress leader Pramod Tiwari shifted the blame on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that it is this party which has to come out clean on the desecration of laddus.
The Congress Rajya Sabha MP, speaking to IANS, said that the accusations have been made by N. Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a coalition partner in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (BJP) government.
"Naidu's TDP raised the issue of profanity at the famed temple and claimed that this happened under the Jagan Reddy-led YSR Congress government, which stood with BJP on almost all issues in its second term. This means that BJP was complicit in the crime," Pramod Tiwari said.
"What was the 'intelligence wing' of the BJP government doing then? Why didn't it raise an alarm when Hindu sentiments were hurt?" he further asked.
He said that BJP deserves the blame for allowing the faith of crores of Hindus to get desecrated by such profane acts.
Notably, the controversy broke out after Andhra Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu dropped a bombshell about the use of animal fat in Tirupati laddus and held the previous Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government accountable for playing with the faith and religious beliefs of crores of devotees of Lord Venkateswara.
The allegations further snowballed into a serious issue with the release of a laboratory report which confirmed the use of animal fat and fish oil in the famous prasadam offered at the iconic temple.
The report was drawn up by a laboratory identified as NDDB CALF (Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock & Food). The samples were reportedly taken on July 6, 2024, and the lab report came out on July 16.
The matter got a fresh twist as the Tirupati temple Trust backed Naidu's claims on the use of animal fat.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the body managing the temple's affairs, said that ghee suppliers took advantage of the lack of in-house adulteration testing facility. TTD Executive Officer Shyamala Rao said lab tests had revealed the presence of animal fat and lard in chosen samples.