Tirupati Temple 'Purified' Amid Row Over Impure Ghee For Laddoos

The Lord Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati was "purified" Monday amid the row over animal fat - fish oil, beef tallow, and lard (pig fat) - in ghee used to make the laddoos, or devotional offerings, 'fed' to the deity and given to devotees.

An army of priests performed a 'maha shani homam' at the temple which is widely seen as one of the holiest sites in Hinduism. Temple officials said the ceremony would "ward off ill-effects of adulteration and restore the sanctity of laddoos as 'prasadam', and ensure devotees' well-being".

Syamala Rao, the Executive Officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam - the government trust that runs the temple - said rituals lasted four hours starting at 6 am, with special focus on the kitchen that makes the laddoos. He also said the new system of procurement, of 'pure cow ghee', had been changed, and this had led to "improved taste of laddoos and other prasadam" from the temple.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu - whose Telugu Desam Party kickstarted the row last week, backed by a July 17 lab report from Gujarat indicating animal fat in ghee samples from the temple kitchen - has ordered a special police team to investigate this matter.

Meanwhile, Naidu's deputy, Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan, has set himself an 11-day fast as 'penance' and the Bharatiya Janata Party - with whom the TDP and Jana Sena are allied at the center - has demanded a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry.

The union government has also gotten involved; last week Health Minister JP Nadda demanded a detailed report and Food Minister Pralhad Joshi said the issue of "desecration" of the Tirupati temple and the Hindu faith will be taken seriously, and "to its logical end".

Also, a PIL, or public interest litigation, has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking a special team to investigate the alleged use of animal fat in the ghee, which, it was argued, violated Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees all Indians right to freedom of religion.

The temple kitchen makes around three lakh laddoos daily, with around 1,500 kg of ghee and vast amounts of cashew nuts, raisins, cardamoms, gram flour, and sugar used. Reports indicate the ghee was bought from a supplier in Tamil Nadu's Dindigul.