Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], September 23 : Amid the row over Tirupati Prasadam, devotees thronged the Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati during the ongoing month of Poratasi, amid Laddu Prasadam row.
Poratasi Masam holds great importance as it is believed that Lord Venkateswara appeared on the earth duing this month.
The Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the Tirumala hills of Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu today announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations about the adulteration of Tirupati Prasadam (laddus).
"We are forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising officers of IGP and above posts. The SIT will submit a report to the government and we will take action based on that report so that such things are not repeated," Naidu said.
Addressing the media at his residence in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu said, "During the last 5 years, many not sacred things were done in Tirumala. Many times, even devotees protested against it. The laddu prasad and the food given at Tirumala are made with pure materials and have a very special taste. When I was CM, I had called Ramdev Baba and we planted many ayurvedic plants all around the temple."
Naidu also accused Jagan Mohan Reddy of appointing people close to him as Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board members and using TTD for political gains.
"The trust board appointment was like gambling. The tickets to the temple were sold as per their wish. Once we went to Tirupati and had to protest and get arrested. They appointed their close people as the board members and even gave prominence to non-Hindus. They used TTD for their political gains," CM Naidu said.
He accused Jagan Mohan Reddy as the main reason behind adulterated ghee in Tirupati Prasadam, saying, "They (YSRCP) removed all the conditions and opened floodgates such that all amateur suppliers can supply. As a result of this, adulterated ghee was supplied."
"When I came to power, immediately the Chief Secretary went on leave. The first thought I had was Thirumala and then I appointed Shyamala Rao as TTD EO. I briefed him that un-sacred things have happened there and you have to cleanse it all," he said.
Meanwhile, Jagan Mohan Reddy said that attempts are being made by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to "irreparably tarnish the sanctity, integrity, and reputation" of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. The former Andhra Pradesh CM wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Tirupati Prasad adulteration row.
In his letter, Reddy stated that the procurement of the ghee has been taking place through the e-tendering process, with the tendering process taking place every six months for the procurement of ghee, and the process has been the same for the past several decades.
On September 19, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu stirred a political controversy after he claimed that the ghee used in the preparation of Tirupati laddoo prasadam, offered at Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple in Tirupati, contained animal fat during the previous YSRCP government.