The Telugu Desam Party-led National Democratic Alliance government headed by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to entrust the case of adulteration of ghee used for preparation of famed Tirumala laddu during the previous regime to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
This was hinted at by TDP general secretary and state human resources development and IT minister Nara Lokesh, while interacting with the media on the latest controversy on Saturday.
“It is the responsibility of the government to investigate into the allegations of adulteration of ghee used in the preparation of Tirumala laddu and there is no question of compromising on the same,” he said.
Stating that there has been a demand from various sections for a comprehensive probe by the CBI into the adulteration of Tirumala laddu with animal fat, Lokesh said the government was also in favour of the same.
“We shall take a positive decision in this regard. The chief minister will come out with a decision on entrusting the investigation to the CBI very soon. There is no question of sparing anybody in this regard,” he said.
Lokesh also announced that the government would bring out a new policy on the systems being followed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and also on the preparation of prasadams being offered to Lord Venkateshwara.
“We have begun an exercise in this regard. It is not possible to bring about radical changes in the systems overnight. It will take some time. We shall adopt a specific policy to prevent recurrence of incidents like adulteration of prasadams,” he said.
The state IT minister said the laboratory reports clearly proved that the ghee used in the laddu-making was adulterated with animal fat.
“This happened basically because of too much interference by the previous government in the day to day activities of the TTD. Never in the past was there any such interference by the chief ministers,” he said.