Tirupati ‘laddu’ issue has sparked nationwide outrage, raising questions about the delicate balance between religion, politics and faith

When controversy and suspicion surround an innocuous sweet like Srivari Laddu sold by the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam, it does not stop there. It has gone much further in the past week and become a political weapon for Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu to beat his predecessor, Jagan Mohan Reddy. Other political parties like the Congress and the BJP use it to their advantage. Some see it as a religious issue. Some others see it as a food quality issue. The spiritual leaders claim that laddu is divine food and that contaminated laddus should not be offered to the deity.

The political row surrounding the laddu highlights the delicate balance between politics, religion, food quality, and the public.The delicious laddus are made in pure ghee with sugar, cardamom, raisins, cashews and gram flour. Fourteen tons of cow ghee were used daily to make laddu prasadam in a modernised kitchen. They are first offered to god and distributed to the devotees as the divine ‘prasad’. The laddus also bring Rs 500 crores annually by selling them to the devotees. Naidu seized the laddu controversy to attack Jagan. He accused the Reddy government of allowing contaminated laddu with beef fat in the ghee as prasad.

He raised it at a celebration of the Modi government completing 100 days in his third term. TDP is part of the Coalition government at the Centre. Laddu came into focus in the sixties and seventies also. At that time, there were concerns about adding Dalda vanaspati, a vegetable fat, to the gee. Shipments with this added fat were rejected, and the suppliers were blocked. In another case, there was a dispute between two Vaishnavite groups about the tilak on Lord Venkateswara. The two groups apply different types of tilaks to Venkateshwara’s forehead. The top court ruled that both tilaks should be used, fifteen days each in a month. The TDP won the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in June. Reddy’s YSRCP was trounced. After winning the Assembly election, TDP used the laddu issue as Naidu, claiming that the Jagan government’s cost-cutting measures led to the purchase of low-quality ghee, compromising the quality of the Tirumala Laddu. Naidu accused Jagan of neglect of Hindu religious practices during his regime. Significantly, Jagan and his late father and Chief Minister, Rajashekar Reddy, are Christians. Reddy has refuted the allegations, claiming it was politically motivated. Jagan has complained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Chandrababu was trying to settle political scores against him.

The YSRCP also criticised Naidu and performed the purification ceremony. Jagan was denied permission to enter the temple for any penance. The laddu controversy has been blown out of proportion in the past week. Jagan did not find support from the other parties. Even Jagan’s sister Sharmila joined the Congress and became the Andhra Pradesh unit chief. She has taken the issue to the Andhra Pradesh governor and seeks a CBI inquiry. Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, Naidu’s coalition partner, and a famous movie star, Pavan Kalyan, is taking up the issue on religious grounds.

He has gone on an 11-day penance claiming the corrupted ghee was a grave offence. While Nadiu plays the political card, Kalyan plays the religious card, saying Sanathana Dharma should be protected. The laddu controversy has spread widely when the media, public figures and some Political leaders have questioned the quality of laddus. It has sparked nationwide outrage among seers and devotees. Unsurprisingly, other organisations like the VHP, a sister organisation of the BJP, the Ayodhya seers and other religious institutions have demanded a thorough enquiry. The Ayodhya and Puri Jagannath priests have sent their prasad for quality checkup.

The laddu controversy has also led to demands that temples be freed from State control. This has come up now and then. But no government wants to let go of their massive temples for free. On the legal side, Surjit Singh Yadav, President of Hindu Sena Samiti, has taken the issue to the Supreme Court, demanding a special Investigation team to go into the issue.

The State government has also set up a committee. The Centre has asked the State to send a report. Meanwhile, the TTD tried to contain the damage. It conducted a purification ritual and assured the devotees that laddus were not contaminated. The issue is evolving and may take longer to resolve now that it has gone to court. It suits Babu and Modi to keep the issue burning. However, such a sensitive issue could go out of control and become a law and order problem if not checked.

The longer it remains, the more the risk of religious sensitivity looming. The controversy shows the need to balance politics, food and religion. Political and religious leaders must carefully consider how different segments of society will perceive their actions regarding spiritual matters. When faith is politicised, it becomes susceptible. Politicians must be vigilant not to make it an emotional issue. In any case, we must wait to see what the Supreme Court does as it has the final word.

(The writer is a popular columnist; views expressed are personal)