Former Chief Minister and YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy came down heavily on Chief Minister and TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu for tarnishing the sanctity of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) temple by making allegations with malicious intent regarding ghee adulteration in Tirumala Prasadam and said Naidu is engaging in diversion politics misleading the public to distract them from the failures of his first 100 days of governance.
Speaking to the media at the party central officer, the YSRCP president expressed his dismay over how religious sentiments were being exploited for political gain. He specifically mentioned the issue surrounding the Tirumala laddus and called it an example of Naidu’s lack of respect for religious institutions. He said Chandrababu Naidu made many false promises during the election campaign, such as cash incentives for children, women, and farmers and none of these promises have been kept, leaving people feeling betrayed and Naidu has been stooping too low and making ghee adulteration allegations only to divert people from his failures. He mentioned that CM Naidu is involved in making such allegations only to divert the public attention for his failures in pressing issues like managing recent floods in Vijayawada, privatisation of steel plant, privatisation of medical colleges, deteriorating law order situation in the state over past 100 days.
Jagan clarified that the procurement of ghee for Tirumala is conducted through a strict and transparent process. Tenders are invited every six months, and the lowest bidder is selected, following a routine procedure that has been in place for decades. No new rules have been introduced, and everything is done systematically, he stated. He explained that ghee suppliers are required to provide a quality certificate from a lab accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL). Three samples from every ghee tanker are tested, and only if they pass all tests is the ghee accepted for use in the preparation of laddu. If the samples fail, the entire tanker is rejected. Jagan firmly dismissed claims of adulterated or inferior-quality ghee being used.
He highlighted that this procedure has existed for decades, even during Chandrababu’s tenure as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019, when similar quality checks were conducted and supplies were rejected if they did not meet the required standards. He pointed out that under the YSRCP government from 2019 to 2024, 18 ghee consignments were rejected for failing the tests. He also questioned the timing of Chandrababu’s claims, pointing out that the samples were taken when Chandrababu was still Chief Minister, and the report on the substandard ghee was issued after three tests in July 2024. He wondered why Chandrababu waited for two months to bring this report to light, suggesting it was part of a deliberate attempt to divert attention from his government’s failures, particularly regarding the unfulfilled “Super Six” promises. He also mentioned that letters would be sent to the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India to address Chandrababu Naidu’s actions, which were damaging the reputation of both the state and the temple.
Jagan stated that his government had made many improvements during its time in office, especially in the functioning of the TTD. He highlighted that his administration introduced several programs to enhance the temple’s management and services. This included modernizing the TTD’s labs and building new temples across the country.
