Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 22: Amidst the accusation that ghee used for preparing “prasadam” in the famous Tirupati temple contained animal fat during the tenure of his YSRCP government, the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has called his successor N Chadrababu Naidu a “Pathological liar” and demanded that he be reprimanded sternly for hurting the religious sentiments of millions of Hindus for political gains.
Mr Reddy, who has strongly denied the allegations levelled by Mr Naidu, on Sunday wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the Tirupati laddu controversy accusing Mr Naidu of stooping so low as to hurt the beliefs of crores of people purely for political objectives.
Detailing the process undertaken at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) the custodian of the super-rich shrine of Sri Venkateswara Swamy for accepting ghee, in an eight page letter, Mr Reddy alleged that Naidu’s actions lowered not only the stature of CM but also that of everyone in public life, the sanctity of TTD and its practices.
“Sir, the entire country looks to you at this crucial juncture. It is very imperative that Mr Naidu be reprimanded in the severest way for his shameless act of spreading lies and the truth be brought to light. Sir, this would help allay the suspicions that Mr Naidu has created in the minds of crores of Hindu devotees and restore their faith in sanctity of TTD,” Mr Reddy wrote in his letter.
Explaining the sequence of events, he said it was crucial to note that the ghee allegedly adulterated was rejected and not allowed to enter the premises of TTD. However, Naidu with malafide intention raised the issue at a political party meeting on September 18. During an NDA legislative party meeting a few days ago, the TDP supremo claimed that the previous YSRCP Government did not even spare Sri Venkateswara temple and used substandard ingredients and animal fat for making laddus.
Two days later on September 20, TTD Executive Officer J. Shyamala Rao in a press conference said Lab tests had revealed the presence of animal fat and lard in chosen samples and the board was in the process of blacklisting the contractor who supplied the “adulterated ghee.”
Mr Reddy accused Mr Naidu of trying to “irreparably tarnish the sanctity, integrity and reputation of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam” and the famous temple and warned that this could have far-reaching consequences.
The YSRCP chief claimed that the people’s perception of the new government was “quite negative” and the Tirupati row was aimed at diverting attention from its failures.
Mr Reddy said the tanker containing the possibly adulterated ghee arrived at Tirupati on July 12, but was rejected and not used to prepare prasadams. “The robust practices in place for decades in TTD could identify the questionable quality and therefore the ghee was not used. Despite this comforting scenario, Mr Naidu chose to callously make a remark that Tirumala Laddus were made with animal fats and not with ghee,” he wrote.
The former Chief Minister stressed the robustness of the policies and procedures of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, which manages the temple. Explaining the checks to ensure the ghee’s quality, he said every tanker that reaches the temple should have certification on the purity of ghee from agencies accredited by NABL — National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.
“Further at the temple, three samples are obtained from every tanker and the same are tested and only after the three samples pass the test would the ghee be allowed to be put to use. If it so happens that if even one of the samples turns out to be substandard, the tanker is rejected and is not allowed to pass. Therefore, the question of sub-standard material being used in the preparation of prasadams does not arise,” Mr Reddy said. He added that this process has been in force for several decades and there have been several instances when tankers were rejected.
“A responsible Chief Minister should, in fact, attempt to bring to the attention of the public the robustness of the checks and balances in place to give them comfort as to sanctity of the functioning of the TTD. The way in which Mr Naidu acted was in a manner totally devoid of social responsibility,” he said.
The alleged report, Mr Reddy said, contains some very serious disclaimers. “The report conveys that the finding would not be applicable if the milk fat belongs to various categories that are listed out in the annexure. The categories include scenarios such as milk fat being obtained from cows which received an exceptionally high feeding of pure vegetable oils, cotton or palm oils, milk fat obtained from cows that are suffering from energy deficiency, milk fat obtained from cheeses showing increased lipolysis and so forth. Therefore, if any of the above scenarios exist, then the methodology adopted would yield an incorrect or false positive result.”
The YSRCP leader said Mr Naidu had, in “total disregard to strong religious sentiments and with the malafide intent to spread lies”, brought the issue to light in a political party meeting on September 18, more than two months after the tanker was rejected. “The inaction of Mr Naidu for the period of two months conveys that he did not believe that the ghee was adulterated physically with animal fats and that the finding of questionable quality was made in the process of routine checks as per the protocol.”
“Sir, Mr Chandrababu Naidu a pathological and habitual liar has stooped so low as to seriously hurt the beliefs of crores of people purely for political objectives. His actions have indeed lowered not only the stature of a Chief Minister but also that of everyone in public life and also the sanctity of the world renowned TTD and its practices. Sir, the entire Country looks to you at this crucial juncture. It is very imperative that Mr Naidu be reprimanded in severest way for his shameless act of spreading lies and the truth be brought to light,” he wrote.
“Sir, this would help allay the suspicions that Mr Naidu has created in the minds of crores of Hindu devotees and restore their faith in the sanctity of the TTD,” Mr Reddy added.