Amaravati, Feb 3 (NationPress) The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to establish a committee aimed at uncovering the masterminds involved in the alleged adulteration of the Tirupati temple laddu. This resolution was made during a Cabinet meeting led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the state Secretariat.

Finance Minister Sri Payyavula Keshav informed the press that the Cabinet thoroughly examined the findings of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that investigated the case.

A temporary administrative committee will be formed to conduct a detailed review of the situation and pinpoint the masterminds behind the scandal.

The government has expressed its serious concern regarding the adulteration of ghee used in the preparation of the sacred laddu, and assured that stringent actions will be taken against all individuals implicated in the report.

During the meeting, the Cabinet dedicated three hours to discussing the ghee adulteration issue, emphasizing that it is the government's responsibility to maintain the integrity of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).

The SIT, operating under the oversight of the CBI, conducted the inquiry following directives from the Supreme Court of India.

It was disclosed that the state government received two key documents from the SIT - the chargesheet submitted to the court and an 11-page confidential report specifically addressed to the government. The chargesheet will only be accessible to the government and relevant parties after the court acknowledges it.

The report highlighted serious irregularities in the ghee supply, including the easing of tender conditions, quality issues, and the submission of fraudulent documents.

The SIT’s investigation revealed that unnecessary relaxations in the TTD ghee procurement process post-2019 enabled the distribution of substandard products. It pointed out that actions such as lowering the turnover condition in tender specifications from Rs. 250 crore to Rs. 150 crore and allowing eligibility without minimum milk procurement experience were intentionally executed.

The NDDB-CALF lab report, which analyzed ghee samples, suggested the potential presence of various suspected adulterants like soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, cottonseed, fish oil, beef tallow, and lard. Chief Minister Naidu publicly addressed this issue based on the report.

The minister indicated that the report revealed that tender conditions were intentionally relaxed, and warnings issued by the CFTRI lab in 2022 were disregarded, resulting in approximately 58 lakh liters of adulterated ghee being supplied. Some companies involved in the tender submitted forged documents to qualify.

The report named senior officials like A.V. Dharmareddy (AEO), Anil Kumar Singhal (former EO), and O. Balaji (F&CAO), stating that they were responsible for relaxing tender conditions and neglecting quality control.

The Cabinet resolved to take appropriate legal and administrative actions against those identified in the report. Additionally, it was decided to implement institutional reforms and enhance the quality control system to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The government has resolved to form a short-term administrative committee to thoroughly review this matter, which will complete its investigation within a specified timeframe and provide a final report to the government.

Minister for Information, Public Relations and Housing, Kolusu Parthasarathy, remarked that the Cabinet prioritized discussions on the laddu adulteration issue over all previously scheduled agenda items.

He added that the Chief Minister presented the report from the SIT during the meeting.

Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar pointed out that all ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, expressed their viewpoints, condemning any attempts to politicize the issue and deciding to present the facts to the public.

The Advocate General was invited to provide legal counsel during the meeting. The Chief Minister reiterated the government's commitment to act transparently to uphold the faith of devotees. He highlighted that the government is addressing issues overlooked during the previous administration and is currently conducting multiple lab tests on the quality of ghee.

This development follows recent demands from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for Chief Minister Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to apologize to devotees after a chargesheet from the Central Bureau of Investigation confirmed that no animal fat was used in the sacred Tirupati laddus.

YSRCP spokesperson Karumuri Venkata Reddy stated that a significant conspiracy in Andhra Pradesh has now come to light.

“The ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute in Haryana and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat, after testing the ghee samples used in the preparation of the sacred Tirumala Sri Vari Laddu Prasadam, have definitively confirmed that no animal fat was present in the ghee. Chandrababu, who propagated false claims about animal fat being mixed in the ghee, must now apologize publicly,” he stated.

YSRCP leaders emphasized that both Naidu and Pawan Kalyan offended the religious sentiments of devotees by asserting that the ghee acquired by TTD during YSRCP's governance was adulterated with animal fat.