TPN, Andhra Pradesh: Telugu Desam Party National Spokesperson, Kommareddy Pattabhiram, has accused the YCP government of supplying adulterated ghee, mixed with animal fat, to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for the preparation of Venkateswara Swamy’s laddu prasadam. He stated that the government has not only defiled the TTD but also hurt the sentiments of devotees worldwide.
At a press conference held today at the Telugu Desam Party’s central office in Mangalagiri, Pattabhiram revealed several key documents to the media, alleging that the YCP government had awarded a contract worth Rs. 31.98 crores to AR Foods for the supply of ghee, which turned out to be adulterated.
Pattabhiram strongly condemned the YCP government for committing what he termed as an “unpardonable sin” by using adulterated ghee in the sacred prasadam. He accused the government of awarding the contract for 10 lakh kilograms of pure cow ghee to AR Foods despite the company’s inability to meet the supply requirements. He presented further evidence to the public, asserting that the company’s production capacity was far less than what was needed for the contract.
Pattabhiram explained that the YCP government issued a purchase order to AR Foods Dairy on May 15, 2024, a day before Chandrababu Naidu took charge as Chief Minister. The tender process had been initiated on March 12 and finalized on May 8, with the agreement signed on June 11. He noted that a TTD technical team had inspected AR Foods Company in November 2023 and concluded that the company had only supplied 14,940 kg of ghee for the year 2022-2023, while its monthly production capacity was around 16 tons.
Despite this, AR Foods was given a contract to supply 1,000 tons of ghee in six months, which Pattabhiram described as impossible given the company’s limited capacity.
Pattabhiram also raised concerns over suspicious delays in the transportation of ghee tankers from AR Foods to TTD. He pointed out that one tanker took 8 days to cover a distance of just 500 kilometers from Dindigul to Tirumala, raising questions about the possibility of adulteration during this time.
He provided details of several other tankers, which also experienced unusually long travel times, further fueling suspicions. Pattabhiram questioned whether AR Foods was sending the tankers to different locations to fill them with adulterated ghee before delivering them to TTD. Pattabhiram clarified that the government had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to uncover the truth behind the adulterated ghee supplied by AR Foods. He assured that the investigation, conducted under the guidelines of the Supreme Court, would be expedited and that those responsible for this “unpardonable sin” would be punished severely.