CBI didn't give clean chit to YSRCP, assert coalition leaders
Say report does not certify anywhere that there was no adulteration; accused are spreading false narratives
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and BJP State president PVN Madhav after attending a meeting of NDA constituents at Amaravati on Thursday
Amaravati: Leaders of the NDA alliance in Andhra Pradesh, led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, BJP State president PVN Madhav, along with other Cabinet Ministers, including IT & HRD Minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday lambasted YSRCP for trying to project that the SIT probe has not found fault with the erstwhile government.
Speaking on the issue at a crowded press conference on Thursday, Chief Minister Naidu said that the alleged adulteration of Tirumala laddu prasadam is a grave offence against devotees’ faith and asserted that no report has given a clean chit to YSRCP in the matter. Speaking to the media after an NDA leaders’ meeting at the CM’s Camp Office, the Chief Minister said the issue is directly linked to public sentiments. “Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy is the family deity of my household,” he said, alleging that sacrilege of the Lord’s prasadam took place during the previous YSRCP regime. Recalling his long association with Tirumala, the Chief Minister said that he survived a claymore mine attack involving 23 mines purely by the grace of the Lord. “That was a rebirth granted to me by Lord Venkateswara,” he said.
The Chief Minister alleged that despite clear warnings from Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in 2022 about adulteration, the report was suppressed and no action was taken. After assuming office, as part of a comprehensive clean-up, his government collected laddu samples and sent them to National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for testing. Referring to the SIT and laboratory reports, he said ghee was prepared using chemicals and palm oil, and other adulterations calling it a grave wrongdoing and an unforgivable sin. He alleged that lakhs of devotees were given adulterated laddus over the last five years, causing fear and mental distress.
Rejecting claims of a clean chit, the Chief Minister clarified that the CBI report does not certify anywhere that there was no adulteration, and said that the accused are spreading false narratives and launching counterattacks to divert attention.
