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Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav on Wednesday said the state government has decided to appoint a committee to investigate the Tirumala laddu adulteration controversy and decide on the next course of action against senior officials involved in the incident.
Speaking to reporters, Keshav said that the SIT has named former TTD officials Anil Kumar Singhal and Dharma Reddy, along with O. Balaji, in its letter. According to Keshave, the SIT alleged that these officials diluted tender norms and removed the sole benchmark for testing. The state Finance Minister also stated that the government is awaiting the chargesheet to determine whether these individuals were falsely implicated. "The Andhra Pradesh government held its cabinet today. There was only one agenda item: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. A copy of the letter written by the SIT to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Charge sheet is yet to come... They have written two letters. One is to take further action to improve Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, and the other is to take action against the officials and senior committee members involved. They have specifically named Dharma Reddy, Mr Balaji, and Mr Singhal. The cabinet has agreed today to appoint a committee to hear their views and decide on the next course of action. The letter clearly states that these people have erred. They have made a mistake... They have diluted the tender norms and removed the only benchmark for testing... We are awaiting the charge sheet to determine whether all these people have been falsely implicated in the crime..." said Keshav. The Andhra Pradesh Minister further said that the suspected adulterants like lard, tallow, and fish oil were identified in the Tirumala Laddu. "He (CM Chandrababu Naidu) received a report from the NDDB (National Dairy Development Board)-CALF (Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food), identifying suspected adulterants. Of the suspected adulterants, we had lard, tallow, and fish oil..." added Keshav. Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan expressed deep anguish, stating that the SIT has concluded that the ghee used in Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy Laddu prasadam during the YSRCP regime was not genuine. He alleged that laddus were prepared using oil manufactured with chemicals and palm oil, severely hurting the religious sentiments of millions of devotees. The Jana Sena Party President further alleged that the YSRCP committed an act of sacrilege at the holy site of Tirumala. He claimed the previous administration arbitrarily altered established rules to facilitate the purchase of tonnes of adulterated ghee. "Driven by greed, YSRCP leaders committed a sacrilege in Tirumala. They arbitrarily altered rules, purchased tonnes of adulterated ghee, and mixed it into the prasadam. High-quality sesame oil itself does not cost 400 per kg--then how could pure cow ghee be supplied at such low prices? After committing all these wrongdoings while in power, they are now resorting to lies and excuses, pretending ignorance. We must strongly take YSRCP's misdeeds to the people," said Kalyan. (ANI)
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