Amid the massive row over allegations that animal fat was used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling the incumbent Chief Minister N Chandrababu a “pathological liar” and accusing him hurting the beliefs of crores of people “purely for political objectives”.
The YSR Congress Party chief has said the entire country is looking at the Prime Minister and it is imperative that Mr Naidu “be reprimanded in (the) severest way for his shameless act of spreading lies”. He has demanded that the “truth be brought to light” to allay the suspicions in the minds of crores of Hindu devotees.
Mr Naidu’s TDP swept the Andhra polls this year and paved the way for Mr Reddy’s exit as Chief Minister. TDP is also a key ally of the BJP at the Centre and its support is critical to NDA’s majority in Lok Sabha after the BJP suffered a setback in this general election.
Mr Reddy has accused Mr Naidu of trying to “irreparably tarnish the sanctity, integrity and reputation of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams” and warned that this could have far-reaching consequences.
The YSRCP chief claimed that the people’s perception of the new government is “quite negative” and the Tirupati row was aimed at diverting attention from its failures.
Addressing an NDA legislative party meeting Wednesday, Mr Naidu said animal fat was used to make the sought-after laddoos given as ‘prasad’ by the Sri Venkateswara Temple under the Jagan Reddy government.
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 Devasthanams, 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.
