'No Need To Bring PM Modi Into This...': Pawan Kalyan Asks Jagan Reddy Not To Defend Tirupati Row

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has questioned former CM Jagan Reddy for dragging Prime Minister Narendra Modi into Tirupati Laddoos row adding he shouldn't defend it and must support the investigation.

"There is no need to bring the honourable PM into this. Being an ex-CM (referring to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy), he could have said 'yes, go ahead and let the culprits get punished'. There is no need for him to defend. We are not blaming him, under the board constituted by you, they had done this... so the simple thing he should let the new government do what it is doing...," Pawan Kalyan said.

A major row has erupted after beef tallow, pig fat and fish oil were found in adulterated ghee used for preparing Tirupati Laddoos. The matter was first highlighted by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu after complaints by devotees of a certain kind of smell coming out from the prasadam at the Tirupati temple.

FSSAI roped in 

Amid the ongoing controversy over Tirupati laddu, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said her department will consider additional measures to monitor ghee quality in the market only after receiving the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) report.

"We will wait for its report," Khare stated during a media briefing on the Modi 3.0 government's 100-day achievements.

She emphasised that food safety falls under FSSAI's purview, adding, "We should all wait for the FSSAI to take action." Responding to queries about potential pre-festive season checks on ghee quality, Khare said, "We will take more action, if required, after the FSSAI report and provided there are consumer complaints on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH)." The secretary clarified that food-related complaints received on NCH are typically forwarded to FSSAI for action, given their expertise in the matter.

The controversy has sparked reactions across states. Karnataka has mandated testing of temple prasadam and specified the use of only Nandini ghee for the preparation. In Uttar Pradesh, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has collected 13 samples of 'prasadam' from prominent temples in Mathura for testing.

The issue came to light after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged on September 18 that the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government had used substandard ingredients and animal fat in Tirupati laddus. Naidu subsequently announced a Special Investigation Team to probe these claims.

As the controversy continues to reverberate nationwide, various quarters are demanding steps to safeguard the sanctity of Hindu temples and their 'prasadam'. 

Wit inputs from PTI