'Shocked, Feeling Guilty': Pawan Kalyan Announces 11-Day Penance Amid Tirupati Laddus Row

Amravati: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, Pawan Kalyan, expressed his guilt over the incident at the Tirupati temple's Laddu Prasadam incident and announced an 11-day initiation, 'Prayashchitta Diksha,' at the Sri Dashavatara Venkateswara Swamy Temple. 

This ritual is meant to atone his sorry and grief for the alleged use of animal fat in the Tirupati Laddu Prasadam distributed at the Tirumala Temple.

The Jana Sena Party leader will commence the 11-day ‘Prayashchitta Diksha’ on Sunday morning at the Sri Dashavatara Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Nambur, Guntur District. He will continue the ritual at the temple for the full duration.

In his announcement on X, Pawan Kalyan called the failure to detect the alleged adulteration of the Tirumala Laddu Prasadam a "stain on the Hindu race."

"Tirumala Laddu Prasadam, which is considered to be sacred, has become impure as a result of the depraved tendencies of the past rulers. Not being able to detect this sin in the beginning is a stain on the Hindu race. The moment I came to know that the laddu prasadam contained animal remains, I was shocked. Feeling guilty. As I am fighting for the welfare of the people, it hurts me that such trouble did not come to my attention in the beginning," Kalyan stated on social media platform X.

"Everyone who believes in Sanatana Dharma should atone for this terrible injustice done to Balaji, the god of Kali Yuga. As part of that, I decided to do a penance initiation. On 22nd September 2024, Sunday morning, I will take initiation in Sri Dashavatara Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Nambur, Guntur District. After continuing the initiation for 11 days, I will visit Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy," he added futher. 

He referred previous Jagan Mohan Reddy government as ‘demonic rulers’, and stated that, “My pain is that even the board members and employees who are a part of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam system are not able to find out the mistakes there, even if they find out, they don't talk about it.”