New Delhi: Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ayodhya Temple, on Friday said ‘prasad’ from the Tirupati Temple was distributed at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya earlier this year, reported news agency PTI. The chief priest also confirmed that 300 kg of ‘prasad’ from the Tirupati Temple was distributed to the devotees during the pran pratishtha or consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January.
The ‘prasad’ (laddoos) of the Tirupati Temple are at the centre of a massive controversy after the Chandrababu Naidu-led state government claimed that “animal fat” was used in the ghee used for the preparation of the laddoos.
On Friday, Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ayodhya Temple, expressed outrage over the allegations of “animal fat” being used in the ghee. “If animal fat was mixed in the ‘prasad’, it is unforgivable. Strict action should be taken against people involved in it,” Satyendra Das was quoted as saying.
The chief priest of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya further demanded an investigation into the allegation from an investigative agency. “Vaishnav saints and devotees do not even use garlic and onions. In such a context, the use of fat in the offerings is very unfortunate. It is a mockery of the Hindu faith,” Das was quoted as saying by PTI. “A major agency should investigate this, and those found guilty should face action,” added.
Between 2019 and 2024, former Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gifted the laddoos from the temple to Prime Minister Narendra Modi every time he visited Delhi, according to the report.
