Tirupati laddu row: 'What is the furore all about? It looks political'

The devotees seem unperturbed and are interested only in catching a glimpse of the god, getting a good darshan, and returning home clutching their bags filled with the holy Tirupati laddu. They seem unconcerned about the laddu controversy that has politicians and the temple authorities all riled up.

Political outrage

On September 23, Tirumala Tirupati Devastanams (TTD) performed a grand Shanti Homam inside the Tirumala temple to ward off the ill effects of the adulteration in the laddu prasadam and restore its sanctity.

On the same day, former TTD Chairman and YSR Congress leader Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, arrived at Tirumala along with cavalcade of vehicles and took a vow that his family would be ruined if he had allowed adulterated ghee to be used for preparing the laddu.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister, Pawan Kalyan, accompanied by hundreds of his followers, issued an unusual warning to ex-CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy that he would not mind if he was physically hurt, but he won’t tolerate if Sanatana Dharma was insulted. A couple of Swamijis demanded that those who were responsible for adulterating the ghee should be hanged. Processions were taken out in many states..

The outrage over Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu's revelation that the previous government led by Jagan Mohan Reddy had used ghee mixed with animal fat to prepare the laddu prasadam refuses to die down.

Pilgrims unperturbed

But the same kind of frenzy over the adulterated laddu is completely missing at Tirupati railway station, which is teeming with pilgrims. These tired pilgrims have had a satisfactory darshan of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala the previous day and were eagerly waiting for their train to return home.

When The Federal spoke to them, most were unaware of the ruckus caused by the alleged adulteration of the popular laddu prasadam with animal fat. A few had read the news while others had seen it on social media. However, they seemed unperturbed by the laddu row.

Notably, they did not believe the story and felt that the public uproar over the adulteration was purely political.

Deepak K Patil, who came from Kolhapur in Maharashtra with his family, had an excellent darshan and purchased a few laddus. When asked to react to the laddu controversy, he felt that politicians had blown it out of proportion. He pointed out that the controversy raging in the media has not affected arrivals at the temple.

“Netha log jo bolte hai aur media jo likhta hai, uske bhare me hamai tippani nahi karna chahte,” he said. (Leaders speak about it, and media writes about it but we should not comment on it)

Strictly political

Similarly, 60-year-olds Jayasri and Suresh, a couple from Thiruvananthapuram, expressed similar sentiments. “If the adulteration did take place, the Lord would not let them go unpunished. Why this furore about it? It is political,” said the couple from Kerala.

According to them, they had sarvadarshan along with thousands of devotees and they were offered a small laddu. It tasted extremely delicious, said Jayasri. 

Narayana, 45 years, a resident of Nanded in Maharashtra, rubbished the controversy as politically motivated. “I did hear about the laddu adulteration. During our last year’s visit, we noticed some drop in quality. Now it is perfect. If adulterated ghee is supplied, people responsible for the crime should be brought to book,” he said, adding that this kind of news ultimately will scare the devotees and stop them from visiting the temple.

Swati (20) from Eranakulam, who had accompanied her family to Tirumala, said there was no real proof of the serious charge. “Without much ado, the government should take action if proof is available. It should not trouble devotees,” Swati said.

No drop in pilgrim numbers

In sync with these sentiments expressed by devotees, there has been no drop in the number of pilgrims arriving in Tirupati or the sale of the laddus at Tirumala. According to the TTD website, as many as 65,604 pilgrims had darshan on September 23 and the Hundi showed a collection of ₹3.85 crore.

On Sunday, there were a staggering 82,646 pilgrims who had darshan, and the hundi collection had ₹4.57 crore. On Saturday, 82,406 pilgrims had darshan and hundi showed a collection of ₹3.68 crore. And on September 20, the day after Naidu had broken the sensational news of ghee adulteration in Tirupati laddus that shook the whole nation, there was no fall in the arrivals of pilgrims. It was recorded that 73,104 pilgrims had Lord’s darshan and hundi collection was ₹3.25 crore on that day.

Laddus lapped up in lakhs

Significantly, the laddu controversy has not affected the sale of laddus at Tirumala. According to TTD temple sources, between September 19 and September 23, when the controversy peaked, TTD sold more than 16 lakh laddus (1,696,605).

On an average, more than 3 lakh laddus are sold daily. The sales compare with the figures of previous months. For instance, the TTD sold as many as 1,04,03,719 laddus in July 2024.

A TTD official said the laddu controversy had no impact on pilgrims' arrival and that the majority of them were not bothered by the controversies over the Tirumala laddu prasadam.

“Undisturbed by the controversies, they come straight to the hills, have Darshan after a long 10 to 24-hour wait, and return home reverentially. They ignore the bad news about the temple. They don’t even want to discuss these things,” added the official, seeking anonymity.

(With inputs from SSV Bhaskar in Tirupati and Dinesh Gunakala in Tirumala)