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Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan on Monday, February 2, told party leaders that YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) was lying about the findings of the SIT report by claiming that ‘no animal fat’ was found in Tirumala Tirupati temple laddus. He asked Jana Sena cadre to strongly counter ‘false propaganda’ by the YSRCP on the laddu adulteration issue.
Addressing the party’s general body meeting in Mangalagiri, Pawan Kalyan accused YSRCP of committing a great sin by allowing preparation of Tirumala laddus with chemicals and running a ‘poisonous campaign’ to cover up the issues brought to light by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
“The report nowhere mentions that there was no animal fat, the ghee used in the laddus is not real ghee at all,” Deputy CM Pawan said. He also stated that while sesame oil costs a mere Rs 400 per kilo, the YSRCP passed it off as cow ghee.
The Jana Sena chief’s remarks are in contrast to the findings of the SIT’s chargesheet. While the chargesheet does point to adulteration that is ‘primarily a mixture of Palm oil and/or Palm stearin with palm kernel oil’, it clarifies conclusively that no cholesterol was present, ruling out the possibility of animal fat.
The chargesheet mentions two reports: one by the National Dairy Development Board at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock (NDDB CALF) at Gujarat’s Anand and ICAR - National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI) in Haryana’s Karnal.
“During the investigation, four sealed ghee samples drawn by TTD from four tankers were sent to ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, Haryana, to test for the presence of lard and other animal fats. In its
report, ICAR NDRI stated that all four samples were analysed using a PCR-based method,” the chargesheet said. ICAR concluded that lard was not detected in any of the four samples.
In a letter dated January 8, 2025, the NDDB CALF concluded that the quantity of ghee in the samples is very low. “The absence of cholesterol in the samples also suggests that the chances for the presence of tallow, lard and fish oil are very low…Further, based on the fatty acid profile and presence of beta sitosterol in ghee samples from TTD, it is concluded that these samples are primarily a mixture of Palm oil and/or Palm stearin with palm kernel oil.”