Dubbing the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister as a “habitual liar”, YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention into the Tirupati laddu adulteration issue and that Chandrababu Naidu be reprimanded.

In a letter addressed to Modi, Jagan alleged that CM Naidu has stooped so low as to hurt the beliefs of crores of people purely for political objectives. Detailing the process undertaken at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) the custodian of the super-rich shrine of Sri Venkateswara Swamy for accepting ghee, in an eight page letter, Jagan alleged that Naidu’s actions lowered not only the stature of CM but also that of everyone in public life, the sanctity of TTD and its practices.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s claim that animal fat was used in preparing Tirupati laddus during the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in the southern state has triggered a massive political row, with the YSR Congress Party accusing Naidu of indulging in “heinous allegations” for political gains and the ruling TDP in the state circulating a laboratory report to back its claim.

Amidst the furore over the adulterated Prasad, a public interest litigation (PIL) matter has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati laddus.

The petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, a farmer and the president of the Hindu Sena, has contended that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), by serving “laddu prasadam” prepared using animal fat instead of ghee to devotees at the Sri Venkatswara Swamy temple, has ridiculed the Hindu religion and outraged the sentiments of Hindus.

The controversy surrounding Tirupati laddus and the demand for “freeing” temples across the country from government control are among the key issues to be discussed at a meeting of the VHP’s apex body in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.