The ‘animal fat’ scandal at the Tirumala temple

Four hours of “ritual purification” at a historic Hindu place of worship visited by millions of pilgrims every year, after laboratory tests revealed traces of animal fat in the laddu sold to worshippers as offerings. The new head of the local government – an ally of the BJP – accuses his predecessor of being in charge of the tenders, who appeals to Modi, denouncing a political manoeuvre and calling for an independent investigation.

Delhi (/Agencies) – The popular Sri Venkateswara Swami temple in the Tirumala Hills, in Tirupati, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, was subjected today to a “ritual purification” due to alleged sacrilegious practices, including having mixed animal fats in the preparation of the food. laddutypical Indian sweets sold in the complex and presented as offerings at the temple. The purification rite took place from 6 to 10 a.m. at the temple, a destination for pilgrimages by millions of believers every year.

The episode also has a clear political connotation: the one denouncing the situation is the current government of Andhra Pradesh headed by Nara Chandrababu Naidu – a local politician with a long career, who returned to power last June by realigning himself with the Hindu nationalists of the BJP – who points the finger at the former chief minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, an ally of the Congress. He claims that the analyses carried out in a laboratory in Gujarat on samples of the butter used to make the laddu revealed the presence of beef fat, lard and fish oil. He blames the previous Reddy government, which was responsible for overseeing the tenders for the temple, and announced an inquiry into the matter.

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi rejecting Naidu’s allegations and denouncing his opponent as “stooping to the extent of hurting the religious sentiments of thousands of people just for political purposes”. He also called for an independent commission of inquiry headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. “It is absolutely necessary,” the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister wrote, “that Mr Naidu be reprimanded in the most severe manner for his shameless act of spreading lies and that the truth be brought out.”

Photo: Nikhil B