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CJI Chandrachud offers prayers at Tirumala Temple amid Tirupati Laddu row
The allegations of using substandard ingredients and animal fats for making laddus have sparked a massive controversy across the country.
Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, visited the Tirumala Srivari Temple on Sunday, offering prayers to Sri Venkateswara. Accompanied by family members, he was received with traditional honours by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officials at the Vaikuntha Queue Complex.
After entering the temple through the special Vaikuntha queue, the CJI had darshan in the sanctum sanctorum of the ancient hill shrine. Post-darshan, Justice Chandrachud and his family were blessed by priests at the Ranganayakula Mandapam. The TTD Executive Officer, J. Shyamala Rao, presented the CJI with thirtha prasadams and a portrait of the deity.
“Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, visited Tirumala Srivari temple and offered prayers to the presiding deity of Sri Venkateswara on Sunday,” said an official press release.
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Earlier on Saturday, the CJI had also offered prayers at the Sri Padmavati Ammavaru temple in Tiruchanur.
Tirupati Laddu row
The visit comes amid a brewing controversy involving the temple’s famed Tirupati laddu prasadam. Allegations of animal fat being used in the sacred offering during the previous YSRCP government's tenure have sparked outrage. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu recently claimed that substandard ghee containing 'lard' (pig fat) was found in the prasadam, a charge the TTD confirmed through lab tests.
However, the allegations have been vehemently denied by the previous administration, with former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy dismissing them as “diversion politics.”
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The Andhra Pradesh government has appointed a nine-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged issue of adulterating Tirupati laddus (consecrated sweet) with animal fats.
"The government of Andhra Pradesh, in accordance with its commitment to protecting the sanctity of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), have (has) considered it necessary to constitute an SIT for detailed and comprehensive investigation of the entire issue," said Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad in a late night order on Thursday.
