Tirupati laddu row: Sanctity of religious sites must be protected, says Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, Sep 20 (PTI) Amid the Tirupati laddu row, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said this issue needs to be thoroughly looked into and asserted that authorities across India have to protect the sanctity of religious spaces.

The Congress said if claims of "desecration" of the Tirupati laddu are right, a full-fledged enquiry must identify the guilty, but if they are wrong or motivated, millions of Tirupati devotees will not forgive those playing with their faith.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's claim that animal fat was used in Tirupati laddus during the previous government triggered a massive political row, with the YSRCP accusing Naidu of indulging in "heinous allegations" for political gains and the TDP circulating a lab report to back its claim.

During an NDA legislative party meeting on Wednesday, Naidu claimed that the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government did not even spare the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati and used substandard ingredients and animal fat to make laddus.

"The reports about the defilement of the Prasad at Sri Venkateshwara temple in Tirupati are disturbing," Gandhi said in a post on X.

Lord Balaji is a revered deity for millions of devotees in India and across the world, he said.

"This issue will hurt every devotee and needs to be thoroughly looked into. Authorities across India have to protect the sanctity of our religious spaces," the former Congress chief said.

Earlier, in a post on X, the Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "If the claims of desecration of the Tirupati Laddus are right, of course a full fledged enquiry must identify the guilty and strictest possible punishment must be meted out BUT, if the claims are wrong or motivated then, millions of devotees of Tirupati will not forgive those playing with their faith." "Until then, it suits the BJP to allow polarising conspiracy theories to fly thick in the air in election season," he said.

TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy claimed at a press conference that a Gujarat-based livestock laboratory has confirmed adulteration in ghee samples provided by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.

He displayed the purported lab report, which confirmed the presence of "beef tallow", lard and fish oil in the ghee samples.

The sample receipt date was July 9, 2024 and the lab report was dated July 16.

Reacting to the development, Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh noted the lab report clearly established that beef fat, fish oil and lard were used to make laddus.

Senior YSRCP leader and another former TTD chairman B. Karunakar Reddy charged that Naidu was making sacrilegious allegations over the Tirupati laddus for political mileage. PTI