Tirupati Laddu Issue: If The Lab Report Is From July, Why Reveal Its Findings Only In September?

After Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's remarks regarding the presence of animal fat in the ghee supplied for the Tirupati laddu and the release of a lab report which found beef fat and lard in the 'sample', among other things, there is outrage amongst Hindus and rightfully so. 

Even as investigations into the adulteration begin, and other related issues, such as temple control, are debated in detail, it is also pertinent to delve into the manner this news was made public.

Firstly, there is the question of why did Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu only share this grave finding during a legislature party meeting? Surely such a serious issue would have called for an exclusive briefing. The Tirupati temple is arguably the most-visited temple of India. The presence of beef in the prasadam of such a holy place is an exceptionally critical finding. Why was it thought that it did not merit a press conference for its own sake?

The second is about the timing of disclosing the report. According to pictures of the report being circulated on the internet, the date of the sample testing is in July 2024. This naturally brings up the question as to why did it take till mid-September to reveal the same?

Third, in his speech to the legislature party meeting where he mentioned about the animal fats in prasadam, Naidu too did not delve into specifics. In the clip of the speech available, he seems apparently content to move on from the matter by mentioning just 'animal fat,' and 'inferior quality ingredients' and mentioning that his government had now put a stop the malpracrtice.

Fourth, in the clip of the event, people present in the room too do not seem to react as per the gravity of the situation. A casual viewer can be forgiven to conclude that what Naidu shared was not news for the audience.

Now, a report in the The Print claims that the adulterated ghee was not used to make prasadam laddus. As per the report, Syamala, the newly appointed executive officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), revealed that the ghee supplied in July by Tamil Nadu's AR Dairy was found to be contaminated with fish oil, lard, beef tallow, and other substances like vegetable oils.

However, this batch of ghee was not used to make laddus. Of the ten tankers supplied by AR Dairy, four were identified by TTD experts as containing inferior-quality ghee based on sensory assessments. Samples from these tankers—two arriving on 6 July and two on 12 July—were sent for external testing for the first time in TTD's history.

And thus we circle back to the prime question: if the report is from July, why reveal its findings only in September?