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Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) on Monday alleged that the administration of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had paid higher than market rates for clarified butter (ghee) supplied to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the Tirupati temple.
The YSRCP has also questioned the links between Naidu and Heritage Foods, a company, the opposition party said, was promoted by the family of the Chief Minister. It said that the Sonai ghee, supplied to TTD at the price of Rs 658 per kilogram, is manufactured by Indapur Dairy that is associated with Heritage Foods The YSCRP said that the same product was sold in the open market at around "Rs 560 per litre" and asserted that people of Andhra Pradesh deserve an explanation for the 2025 government tender finalised for procuring 10,00,000 kgs of ghee. "Sonai ghee manufactured by Indapur Dairy was supplied to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam at Rs 658 per Kg. However, available invoices indicate that the same product was sold in the open market at around Rs 560 per litre. The people of the state deserve a clear explanation as to why TTD paid a higher price and how the 10,00,000 kg ghee tender was finalised in 2025. Serious concerns arise because Indapur Dairy is associated as a co-manufacturing unit with Heritage Foods, a company promoted by the family of N Chandrababu Naidu," the YSRCP posted on X. https://x.com/YSRCParty/status/2025843322259206407 The opposition party accused the Chandrababu Naidu government of engaging in "favouritism and possible corruption". "When such links exist, the responsibility to ensure transparency becomes even greater. If public money was burdened unnecessarily, it raises grave suspicions of favouritism and possible corruption. The TDP government must give an explanation and place all facts before the people. Chandrababu did it for his personal benefits. When it comes to temples, Chandrababu Naidu's motto is simple: first - money, second - politics, and in the last, it's public sentiments," the YSRCP said. On Thursday, YSRCP demanded that the facts regarding the Tirumala laddu prasadam controversy be made public to identify who benefited from the issue. Addressing mediapersons in Vijayawada, YSRCP MLC M Ravindranath said, "We want the issue to be resolved and clarify the facts. We need to know who benefited. The government is not coming forward. We will present all the evidence and reports from the CBI and the medical. We will also open financial statements, including the tie-ups of the Heritage company with the ghee firms." Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition (LoP) legislative council Botsa Satyanarayana accused Chandrababu Naidu of indulging in corruption and peddling misleading propaganda by dragging the sacred Tirumala laddu prasadam into political discourse. It was Chandrababu Naidu who had alleged in 2024 that adulterated ghee was being used for preparing 'laddus' at TTD under the previous Jagan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party government. The SIT, formed after the intervention of the Supreme Court, including two officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), confirmed adulteration in the supplied ghee. According to a SIT report, adulterated ghee supplied to TTD was made by mixing palm oil, palm kernel oil, along with some other chemicals like beta-carotene, acetic acid ester and artificial ghee flavour. However, it did not mention that animal fat was used in the adulterated ghee. (ANI)
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