Tirupati Laddoo Row: Ayodhya Ram Temple Chief Priest Seeks Ban on Prasad from ‘Outside’

Amid the Tirupati Laddu row, Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, questioned the purity of oil and ghee being sold across the country and demanded an investigation into them.

The chief priest said that the prasad offered to the deities should be prepared under the supervision of the priests of the temple. Das’s statement on Thursday came amid the controversy over the adulteration of animal fat in the ghee used to make laddu prasadam offered in the Tirupati temple of Andhra Pradesh.

Commenting on the recent Tirupati temple prasad controversy, Acharya Satyendra Das has demanded a complete ban on prasad prepared by ‘outside’ agencies in all major monasteries and temples.

“’The controversy over the use of fat and meat in the prasad of Tirupati Balaji is increasing across the country. Both saints and devotees are expressing anger over this and demanding an investigation,” he said.

Appealing to all monasteries and temples across the country, Das said that the prasad offered to the deities should be prepared under the supervision of the temple priests. He reiterated the need to check the purity of oil and ghee being sold across the country and alleged that there is an international conspiracy to defile the monasteries and temples of the country by mixing meat and fat in prasad.

Speaking about the Tirupati Prasadam (laddu) controversy, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy gave the idea of conducting an apology ritual in temples on September 28. Jagan Mohan said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has sinned by making false claims about Tirupati Prasadam.

The former Chief Minister has appealed to the people of Andhra Pradesh to also participate in this apology ritual.

Earlier Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu made serious allegations against Jagan Mohan Reddy. On September 18, the Chief Minister had claimed that during the rule of the YSR Congress in the state, vegetable oil with animal fat and fish oil was mixed during preparation of the laddus offered at Tirupati temple. The next day, TDP claimed to have confirmed its allegations by showing a lab report.

Following this claim, Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan started observing an 11-day fast on September 22 for atonement. “I regret why I could not find out about the adulteration earlier. I apologized to God, I will atone for this,” he said.