‘Hurt and shocked’: Andhra Dy CM Pawan Kalyan on Tirupati Prasad row, calls to establish Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], September 20 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Friday was "hurt and shocked" by the controversy over the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati Laddu Prasadam given at Tirumala Temple in Tirupati and called to set up a 'Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board' to protect the sanctity of temples.
"We are hurt and shocked...When people of no commitment and no value and no respect for the sanctity of the temple, if they take charge this is what happens...It is not just about prasad, maybe liquor and non-veg was supplied, people were having parties there," Pawan Kalyan told ANI.
The Jana Sena chief suggested establishing a 'Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board' to ensure the purity of the sacred offerings.
"When governments and boards are not acting well, there should be some other monitoring mechanism in India. Sanathana Dharma Parirakshana Board is the need of the day if any kind of desecration happens to idols, the sanctity of temple is not maintained...Sanathana Dharma Parirakshana Board is essential because when you leave it to the political groups, such incidents are likely to happen on a regular basis. To thwart it and find a permanent solution, I think Sanathana Dharma Parirakshana Board should be constituted. Maybe I will speak with my cabinet as well as the CM. I will personally take it forward...We will constitute something like the Sanathana Dharma Parirakshana Board, it is essential...I will take it up in the next cabinet meeting," said Andhra Dy CM.
Raising concern over the quality of prasad and the functioning of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), he said that the quality of prasad is always quite superior and are sourced from highly trusted groups and companies to ensure its purity and sanctity.
"The quality of prasad is always quite superior and if you get even a small byte, it is like a mahaprasad to everybody. It was done with great reverence. The material chosen for Prasad is sourced from very trusted groups/companies...Everything is sourced in a very well-structured manner. No one has dared to violate that part or to change. You need 15,000 kg of ghee per day to make prasad.
Questioning the recent changes, the actor-turned politician said that people were regularly complaining about the smell.
"The claim that they changed vendors because it is Rs 1000 plus something and they changed and brought it down. They said that their supply was given to them at Rs 360-400. Ghee is made at a high price. So, how could they source such cheap ghee?...People were complaining regularly about the smell, which is not usual with the prasad...I thought no one would dare violate with these kinds of complaints but I was looking at other things in TTD...We had been raising concerns regarding the quality of Prasad and the functioning of TTD," Kalyan added.
He also said that they wanted to revive TTD and sent samples to test whether animal fat, fish oil, beef fat, and pig fat were in the prasadams.
"When we formed the government and said that we wanted to revive TTD and sent samples, we realised that animal fat, fish oil, beef fat and pig fat were in there," Kalyan added.
Notably, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients, including animal fat, were used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus, a sweet offered at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, during the previous Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government.
Reacting to the allegations, the YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy told reporters, "Ultimately, at the end of the day , I myself am writing a letter to the Prime Minister. I am also writing a letter to the Chief Justice of India. I am explaining to them as to how Chandrababu Naidu twisted the facts and why action should be taken against him for having done so." (ANI)