VIJAYAWADA: Minister for Civil Supplies Nadendla Manohar on Sunday said the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has no moral right to speak on the Tirumala laddu issue, accusing it of attempting to politicise a matter deeply connected with the sentiments of crores of devotees. He described such efforts as condemnable and irresponsible.
Speaking to the media in Tenali of Guntur district, the Minister said the Tirumala laddu issue was not related to any political party but to faith and devotion, and warned against turning it into a tool for political vendetta.
Referring to the Supreme Court monitored probe into allegations of adulteration in Tirumala laddus, he said the CBI report had brought out clear facts, yet YSRCP leaders were resorting to counter-allegations instead of accepting responsibility.
Nadendla Manohar asserted that after the report revealed that not even a single drop of genuine ghee was found in the claimed 60 lakh litres, YSRCP leaders forfeited the moral authority to comment on the issue.
He said claims by YSRCP leaders that special ghee was used for laddus sent to Ayodhya only proved that they were aware that the ghee used in Tirumala was not genuine.
If special ghee was procured exclusively for Ayodhya laddus, he questioned how the public had been misled for five years about the ingredients used for regular laddus. He termed it disturbing that 1,005 kg of ghee each was sourced from dairy firms in Hyderabad and Palamaner for Ayodhya.
He cautioned against attempts to make personal attacks on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
Clarifying that Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s stand has always been to protect Hindu dharma and not to demean other religions, Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar called for corrective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.