Chilkur Balaji head priest reacts to Tirupati Laddu row

Hyderabad: CS Rangaranjan, head priest of Chilkur Balaji Temple on Friday reacted on the Tirupati Laddu row and called it ‘atrocious and highly sinful’ if the news was true.

“We request the Andhra Pradesh government to go to the bottom of this episode and identify the culprits. We also support the formation of Dharmika Parishad proposed by Deputy Chief Minister of AP Pawan Kalyan, so that temples can be run under an autonomous body,” he said.

“Further steps should be taken so that there is no compromise on the quality of ghee used for making laddus, as millions of pilgrims from across the globe visit Tirumala temple to have darshan of Sri Venkateswara Swamy with utmost devotion. There is every need to protect the sanctity and divinity of Tirumala Divyakshetram and laddu prasadam,” he added.

Continuing further, he said, “We highly appreciate that Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu government has stated that the quality and taste of laddu prasadam needs to be ensured and sanctity has to be restored by using pure cow ghee as it involves the sentiments of millions of devotees across the globe. As per media reports, there were five suppliers of ghee to TTD in the past and the rates were between Rs 320 to Rs 411 per kg. The reason for the lack of quality is not having an in-house lab. The suppliers took advantage of these deficiencies. There is a need to thoroughly enquire and book the culprits. TTD should stall all cow-based products used for making Srivari Prasadams till these raw materials are thrown out. TTD has to form a committee of experts including senior ‘Potu’ (temple kitchen) workers who have maintained the quality till date.”