Row over Tirumala laddu: Jagan seeks action against Chandrababu for 'twisting facts'

Amaravati, Sep 20 (IANS) Amid a huge row over the alleged presence of animal fat in ghee used for making Tirumala laddu during the YSR Congress Party rule in Andhra Pradesh, party president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Friday that he will write letters to Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India, seeking action against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for "twisting facts". 

"I am writing a letter to the Prime Minister. I am also writing a letter to the Chief Justice of India. I am explaining to them as to how Chandrababu Naidu twisted the facts and why action should be taken against him for having done so," he said at a press conference on Friday.

He demanded action against Naidu for tarnishing the reputation of Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple and playing with the sentiments of devotees.

Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that Naidu’s baseless allegation was part of his politics to divert public attention from the failures of his government during 100 days.

Accusing Naidu of playing with the sentiments of crores of devotees, he said the TDP leader was using even God for his politics.

"Chandrababu Naidu has made an atrocious allegation that ghee made with animal fat was used in making Tirupati laddu. Is it fair for a person holding the office of the Chief Minister to speak like that? Is it proper to play with the sentiments of crores of devotees," he asked.

The former chief minister explained how Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) has a fool-proof system to procure ghee and other ingredients.

"Ghee procurement in Tirumala is a regular process. Tenders are called for every six months and the quality supplier who falls into the L-1 category is selected. This is a routine process and no one has changed the norms," he said.

He pointed out that the supplier has to submit a certificate from the National Accreditation Board for Labs (NABL) along with the ghee tanker. Three samples are taken from the tanker, and they are sent for three tests. Only if the samples pass all the tests, the tanker is accepted. Otherwise, it is sent back, he explained.

Jagan claimed that between 2014 and 2019 when Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister, ghee and other materials were sent back 15 times by the TTD.

"Between 2019 and 2024, tankers were sent back 18 times because the reports in the quality tests were not good,” he said.

The YSR Congress chief said it was disgraceful that instead of telling the world about the excellent system being followed at TTD, Chandrababu Naidu has uttered lies.

Referring to the lab reports cited by the TDP, Jagan said the samples were taken on July 12, a month after Chandrababu Naidu took oath as the chief minister.

Since the reports of the three tests at TTD were not good, the samples were sent to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on July 17, and they gave the report on July 23.

The former chief minister wanted to know why this report was made public now.

"What was Chandrababu Naidu doing since July 23? Why was this report kept under wraps," he questioned.

Jagan Mohan Reddy also claimed that since Chandrababu has completed 100 days of his government and people are questioning him about implementation of 'Super Six' promises made in the election, he made the report public to divert people's attention.

"He distorted the facts and uttered lies. Is it fair?" he asked.

The YSRCP leader said while TTD has such a strong mechanism to allow only ghee tankers which meet stringent quality standards, Chandrababu Naidu spread the lie that adulterated ghee was used to make laddus and the same was given to devotees.

He also questioned how the NDDB report could be released in the TDP office and that too on a day when Naidu claimed that his 100-day rule was good.