VISAKHAPATNAM: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Botcha Satyanarayana strongly criticised the comments made by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu pertaining to the adulteration of ghee used in preparing the Tirumala temple Prasadam.
Addressing a press conference in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, Botcha said, “It is improper for someone of the Chief Minister’s stature to speak in such a manner. Politics over the sentiments of millions of devotees is unacceptable. It would have been better if such statements were made after the facts were established.”
If there is indeed the ghee used for making Tirumala laddus was adulterated, a thorough inquiry should be conducted into the matter. The truth should be verified and strict action should be taken against those responsible for it. “If the allegations are proven false, the Chief Minister should tender a public apology,” he said. Mentioning that the TDP-led NDA government had failed miserably in its first 100 days of governance, Botcha accused the coalition of using religious issues to divert the public attention from its unfulfilled election promises.
He demanded that a CBI or judicial inquiry be ordered into Naidu’s allegations. He warned that Naidu’s ‘irresponsible behaviour’, even invoking divine institutions for political gains, would have serious consequences. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams follows a strict protocol, only materials of certified quality are used in the preparation of Prasadam, he asserted.
Citing an example, he said 18 tankers of ghee were rejected for not meeting the quality standards during the YSRC government, while 14 were rejected during Naidu’s previous regime. Botcha also questioned the coalition government’s focus, asking why it is not highlighting its achievements in the past 100 days or addressing the State’s development, but instead blaming the previous YSRC regime for everything. Mentioning the unfulfilled election promise of Super Six, he slammed the government for not even continuing the existing schemes like Amma Vodi and Rythu Bharosa.
Mentioning the recent floods in Vijayawada, Botcha charged the government with negligence, which led to the loss of lives and property, besides causing severe distress to the people. The government’s response to the situation was disastrous and no administration in his 35 years of political experience had allowed people to suffer for days without access to food and drinking water due to floods, he observed.
In a separate press release, YSRC leader Ambati Rambabu flayed Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for making accusations regarding the use of adulterated ghee in the preparation of Tirumala Laddu and stated that they were made with malicious intent to take revenge against former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Stating that such claims were baseless and hurt the sentiments of crores of devotees, the former minister sought to know why the NDDP report, which was issued two months ago, was made public now and why it was released at the TDP office instead of official channels.
Challenging both Naidu and Lokesh if they were willing to take an oath regarding the matter, he requested the TTD officials to present facts to the public instead of spreading false information for political gain.