Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 23: Amidst the row over alleged mix of animal fat in ghee used for preparing “prasadam,” a big ritual was performed on Monday at the famous Tirupati temple, particularly in its kitchen, for the “purification” of the laddu preparation process even as the BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy moved the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe into the allegation of supply of adulterated ghee.
An army of priests performed the ‘maha shanti homam‘ at the temple in Andhra Pradesh that is widely seen as one of the holiest sites of Hinduism. Temple officials said the ceremony would “ward off ill-effects of adulteration and restore sanctity of laddus as ‘prasadam‘, and ensure devotees’ well-being.”
After the ritual one of the head priests, Krishna Seshachala Deekshitulu, said, “Everything at the Lord Venkateswara Temple is purified… I request all the devotees not to worry anymore. Come and visit the hill shrine to seek the “blessings of Balaji” and buy the laddus to take ‘prasadam‘ back home…”
Expressing concern over reports of use of animal fat, beef tallow, lard and fish oil, in the ghee supplied to the temple for preparing laddus, Mr Swamy on Monday requested the Supreme Court to direct the Andhra Pradesh Government to file a detailed report on the source and sampling of the ghee used for making the laddus. Mr Swamy also urged the court to issue an interim direction to obtain a detailed forensic report from the authorities concerned.
Besides Mr Swamy, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) appealed to the court to take suo motu cognisance of the issue and launch a probe to identify the culprits. The VHP said, “the Supreme Court should take suo motu cognisance of this matter and investigate it in a definite time period to identify the culprits of this unforgivable crime and punish them stringently,” it said in a press release.
Further, the VHP noted that there is no room for negligence and delay in this matter as such a scenario could result in nationwide agitations by Hindus, who are already impatient over this issue. It said the allegations and counter allegations of the ruling NDA and opposition YSRCP in over the past four to five days have caused immense consternation among the community and hurt the sentiments of crores of followers.
Also, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a special team to investigate the alleged use of animal fat in the ghee, which, it was argued, violated Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees all Indians right to freedom of religion. The Rajya Sabha MP from the YSRCP, YV Subba Reddy has also moved the top court seeking for an independent committee under a retired SC judge to probe the matter.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is the board that manages the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala. It said a “mistake” had been committed by offering prasadam and laddus made of adulterated ghee to the Tirupati deity.
The TTD further said it organised the Mahashanti Yagam as a “purification ritual to atone for this”. The event’s aim was to “rectify the mistake and maintain the sanctity of the temple”, it said.
The board said panchagavya, or five sacred products, were used to purify the laddu potu (the kitchen where the laddus is made) and annprasadam potu (the kitchen where the prasadam is made). The entire temple premises were “purified” using panchagavya, it said.
Eight archakas, or priests, and three agama advisers took part in the ritual. TTD executive officer Shyamala Rao and other board officials were also present.
“For the past four to five days, there have been many news spreading worldwide that the ghee used to prepare Balaji’s laddus contained animal fat. The Government of Andhra Pradesh and TTD management approached us for a solution. We suggested that TTD perform a homam called ‘Shanti Homam’ for purification, and they accepted,” Tirupati temple’s chief priest said. “This morning, after 6 am, we sought the permission and blessings of Lord Venkateswara and performed the homam… Now, everything is purified,” he added.
Mr Shyamala Rao, the Executive Officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the government trust that runs the temple, said starting at 6 AM the rituals lasted four hours with special focus on the kitchen that makes the laddus. He also said the new system of procurement, of ‘pure cow ghee’, had been changed, and this had led to “improved taste of laddus and other prasadam” from the temple.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu – whose Telugu Desam Party kickstarted the row last week, backed by a July 17 lab report from Gujarat indicating animal fat in ghee samples from the temple kitchen, has ordered an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the AP police. “Many not-so-sacred things were done over the last five years,” he said darkly, declaring non-Hindus would not be allowed on the temple management board.
As the row reverberated across the country with demands to protect the sanctity of Hindu temples, the CM further alleged that several procedures to procure ghee by the TTD were altered under the government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. His predecessor, meanwhile, accused him of being a “pathological and habitual liar” in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging his intervention.
Addressing a press conference at his Undavalli residence, Naidu said people’s sentiments were hurt after these revelations. “An inspector general level or above officer-manned SIT will be formed. It will probe all the reasons, the misuse of power and give a report to the government. The government will take stringent action to avoid recurrences (laddoo adulteration), there is no compromise,” he said.
Apart from the question of animal fat in ghee, Mr Naidu has also accused former TTD Chairperson, Bhumana Karunakar Reddy – an ex MLA with the YSR Congress of former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy – over irregularities connected to temple management.
The temple’s ex EO, Dharma Reddy, a civil servant, was also accused; in April the centre extended Mr Reddy’s deputation from the Indian Defence Estates Service by six weeks. The Chief Minister has also accused his predecessor, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, of favouritism in appointing senior temple management officials, a charge the YSR Congress leader has denied.
Amid the bitter squabbling and claims and counterclaims, Mr Reddy on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi denouncing Chandrababu Naidu as a “pathological liar” and accused the Chief Minister of hurting the beliefs of crores of people “for political objectives”.
On the specific claim of animal fat in ghee, Mr Reddy said a tanker containing (the possibly adulterated) ghee had arrived at the temple in July but was rejected. “Robust practices in place for decades (at the) TTD could identify the questionable quality (of the ghee) …” he said. “(at the temple) three samples are tested from every tanker, and only after (all) three pass is the ghee be used… if even one sample is substandard the tanker is rejected…” he explained.
The under-fire ex Chief Minister also red-flagged disclaimers in the lab report, which says the findings may be voided if “the milk fat… is obtained from cows which received an exceptionally high feeding of pure vegetable oils, cotton or palm oils…” and other similar preconditions. Earlier, Mr Reddy criticised the “false report” and accused Mr Naidu of “misusing faith for politics.”
Meanwhile, Mr Naidu’s deputy, Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan, has set himself a 11-day fast as ‘penance’ and the BJP with whom the TDP and Jana Sena are allied at the centre – has demanded a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry.
Mr Kalyan began his ‘penance’ on Sunday at a Lord Venkateswara temple in Guntur district. “If a church or mosque was involved… this would have caused a national uproar. Why are Hindus expected to not raise issues…” the Deputy Chief Minister asked.
The union government has also gotten involved; last week Health Minister JP Nadda has demanded a detailed report and Food Minister Pralhad Joshi said the issue of “desecration” of the Tirupati temple and the Hindu faith will be taken seriously.
The temple kitchen makes around three lakh laddus daily, with around 1,500 kg of ghee and vast amounts of cashew nuts, raisins, cardamoms, gram flour, and sugar used. Reports indicate the ghee that was found adulterated was bought from a supplier in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul.