Pawan Kalyan calls for a National Sanatana Dharma Board as Tirupati temple row rages on

The shocking Tirupati Ladoo controversy has now become the foremost topic of discussion in the country. As Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan weighed in on the issue, calling for a National Sanatana Dharma Rakshana board to be constituted to look into the affairs of temples.

On 18th September, Andhra Pradesh Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu caused a furore when he put forth claims that animal fat was used in Tirupati temple laddus during the previous YSRCP government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The ruling Telugu Desam Party on Thursday claimed that the adulteration has been confirmed by a Gujarat-based livestock laboratory. TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy at a press conference displayed the lab report which confirmed the presence of “beef tallow” in the given ghee sample.

The famous Tirupati temple is located in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh is dedicted to Lord Venkateswara, a form of Lord Vishnu. The temple is one of the world’s most visited religious sites, attracting 24 million devotees every year. The average daily pilgrim footfall is above 60,000, and the number regularly crosses one lakh devotees during the annual festivals and the holiday seasons.

Outrage erupted across the nation, after allegations that Tirupati laddus, which are well known for being offered to devotees of the Tirumala Venkateswara temple, contained not only “beef tallow”, but also “pig lard” and fish oil.

Writing on X, Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan expressed his dismay at the controversy and promised strict action against the offendors, “We are all deeply disturbed with the findings of animal fat (fish oil, pork fat and beef fat) mixed in Tirupathi Balaji Prasad. Many questions to be answered by the TTD board constituted by YCP Govt then. Our Govt is committed to take stringent action possible.”

Kalyan further goes on to advocate for the constitution of a National Sanatana Dharmic board to look into issues pertaining to temples, “This (incident) throws light on many issues surrounding desecration of temples, its land issues and other dharmic practices. Maybe the time has come to constitute a ‘Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board’ at a National level to look into all the issues related to temples in entire Bharath.”

The Deputy Chief Minister also urged for a debate at National level by policy makers, religious heads, judiciary, citizens, media and all others in their respective domains to come together and put an end to the desecration of ‘Sanatana Dharma’ in any form.