UP Govt Collects 'Prasadam' Samples From Mathura, Vrindavan Temples Amid Tirupati Laddoos Row

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the testing of ‘prasadam’ in various temples across the state after controversy erupted over the presence of animal fat in prasdam laddoos at Tirumala Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. The Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has collected 13 samples from temples in Mathura, Vrindavan, and Govardhan for testing.

The Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh is at the centre of a massive controversy afte beef tallow, pig fat, fish oil were found in the ghee used to prepare the laddoos. A test report confirmed the presence of the animal fat in the laddoos. 

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu raised the matter and blamed the former CM Jagan Reddy's government for adulteration practices.

A war of words has now erupted between Naidu and Reddy as the latter blamed CM for trying to gain political mileage out of this incident.

Meanwhile, speaking on the latest development, FSDA Assistant Commissioner Dhirendra Pratap Singh said that the samples were collected over the past two days from the famous Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple of Mathura, Thakur Banke Bihari temple of Vrindavan and the Daan Ghati temple of Govardhan.

FSDA Assistant Commissioner Dhirendra Pratap Singh said the action has been taken in light of the alleged adulteration of Tirupati laddus. After the laboratory report comes in, it will be known if there is any kind of adulteration in the items being sold here as 'prasadam', he said.

Singh said a campaign will be run in the entire district from Monday and teams will go to every area to collect samples. He said that in the last two days, the team had collected samples from about 13 places and sent them to the laboratory. Further action will be taken based on the report, he said.

The assistant commissioner also said all the shopkeepers have been warned not to mix any unwanted substance in any food item, let alone 'prasadam'.

Playing with the health of people will not be tolerated at any cost, he said.

Earlier, Chandrababu Naidu 's claim that animal fat was used in Tirupati laddus during the previous government has triggered a massive political row, with the YSRCP accusing Naidu of indulging in "heinous allegations" for political gains and the TDP circulating a lab report to back its claim.

During an NDA legislature party meeting on Wednesday, Naidu claimed that the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government did not even spare the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati and used substandard ingredients and animal fat to make laddus.

With inputs from PTI