Andhra’s Tirumala temple denies presence of centipede in Anna Prasadam

TIRUPATI (Andhra Pradesh): The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Saturday condemned the allegations of a centipede being found in the Anna Prasadam at Madhava Nilayam and called them as false and unfounded, as per a release issued by the Chief Public Relations Officer.

“TTD prepares hot Anna Prasadam for thousands of devotees that come for Srivari Darshan and it is an unconvincing claim by the devotee that a centipede fell in the Annaprasadam. Even if rice is mixed with curd, the creature could not go unnoticed”, the release said.

Further, TTD added that it was a deliberate attempt to defame the holy institution and hurt the sentiments of the devotees who consumed the Anna Prasadam as a blessing from Srivaru. An appeal was made to the devotees to not be carried away by the baseless and false news and fave faith in Sri Venketeswara and TTD, the statement said.

Meanwhile on Friday, YSCRP president Jagan Mohan Reddy criticised current Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu over the Tirupati laddu prasadam controversy and said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was unnecessary because “nothing wrong” took place.

The former CM said, “Don’t play games with Sri Venkateswara. If this continues, there will be consequences. Nothing has happened at TTD; an SIT is not required because nothing wrong occurred there. Chandrababu Naidu fabricated these lies for political gain to divert attention from politics”.

During the press conference, Reddy added that the Supreme Court had made serious remarks about Naidu’s comments, which hurt Hindu sentiments. He also accused Naidu of using religious issues for political gain. Reddy noted that the Supreme Court reprimanded Naidu for his comments and stopped the SIT formed by Naidu to investigate the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) laddu controversy, adding that Naidu’s comments damaged the sanctity of the prasadam and that the court even questioned the CM’s role in the issue.

The former CM emphasized that a proper system has been in place for making prasadam. He explained that tankers used for transporting ingredients go through three quality tests, and any tanker failing even one test is rejected. Jagan revealed that the Supreme Court had ordered a CBI-led investigation into the laddu prasadam issue. The team will include officials from the state police and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Reddy criticized Naidu for continuing to spread lies, even after the court’s intervention. Taking a dig at actor-politician Pawan Kalyan, Jagan questioned why he was supporting Naidu’s false propaganda.

The row was triggered after the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients, including animal fat, were used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus, the prasadam offered at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, during the previous YSRCP government. (ANI)