Hyderabad: YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Jagan Mohan Reddy cancelled his visit to the Tirupati temple on Friday amid the raging controversy over the laddoos which are offered as ‘prasadam.’
Police imposed prohibitory orders on the visit of political groups, which forced Jagan and his party members to call off the visit.
“Police clearly stated in the notices to YSRCP leaders that visit to Tirumala has no permission… why do we need police permission to visit a temple?” The Times of India quoted Jagan as saying.
Jagan, who has been under fire since Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu’s claim that Tirupati laddoos were made with ghee containing animal fat, has launched a counter-offensive.
His proposed to Tirupati was part of a statewide temple ritual initiated by YSR Congress Party, purportedly to atone for what it referred to as the “sins” of Chandrababu.
“The demon rule is continuing in the state. The government is trying to obstruct my upcoming visit to the Tirumala temple. Police have issued notices to YSRCP leaders across the state regarding the temple visit. The notice states that the visit to the Tirumala temple is not permitted, and the programme organised by YSRCP does not have necessary approval. Consequently, leaders are not allowed to participate in that programme,” said the YSRCP chief.
Chandrababu has accused the previous YSRCP-helmed state government of using substandard ingredients, including animal fat, in the preparation of the laddoos, a claim corroborated by a Gujarat-based lab.
Jagan hit back, saying all this happened after Chandrababu’s government came to power in June.
Chandrababu’s claims triggered widespread outrage across the country, igniting debates on the sanctity of temples’ offerings.
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