Making a startling claim, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has said animal fat was used to make Tirupati laddoos under the previous government run by the YSR Congress. The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led party has rubbished the allegation and termed it malicious. 

Addressing an NDA legislative party meeting on Wednesday, Mr Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party came to power in Andhra Pradesh in June in an alliance with the Jana Sena and the BJP, said animal fat was used to make the sought-after laddoos given as ‘prasad’ by the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati under the Jagan Reddy government. The temple is managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

“In the past 5 years, YSR Congress party leaders have tarnished the sanctity of Tirumala. They compromised on the quality of ‘Annadanam’ (free meals) and even contaminated the sacred Tirumala Laddu by using animal fat instead of ghee. This revelation has caused concern. However, we are now using pure ghee. We are striving to protect the sanctity of the TTD,” Mr Naidu said in Telugu. 

Senior YSR Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP YV Subba Reddy accused Mr Naidu of damaging the sanctity of the Tirumala shrine.

“Chandrababu Naidu has severely damaged the sanctity of Tirumala and the faith of crores of Hindus. His comments about the Tirumala prasad are extremely malicious. No person would speak such words or make such accusations,” Mr Reddy wrote in Telugu on X.

“It has been proven again that Chandrababu Naidu will stoop to any level for political gain. To strengthen the faith of the devotees, I, along with my family, am ready to take an oath before the almighty regarding the Tirumala ‘prasad’. Is Chandrababu Naidu willing to do the same with his family,” he asked.

New Delhi:

In a big setback to the YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP, two Rajya Sabha MPs have resigned from the party and their membership in the Upper House. Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar has accepted their resignation, news agency PTI has said, quoting sources.

The two YSRCP MPs are Mopidevi Venkataramana and Beda Mastan Rao. While Mr Venkataramana’s term in Rajya Sabha was till June 2026, Mr Rao’s was till June 2028. Both are likely to join the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP, which swept the Andhra Pradesh elections that were held alongside the general election this year. The two leaders recently met TDP chief and Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

Following these exits, YSRCP has nine MPs in the Upper House and four in the Lok Sabha. The two MPs who quit today are likely to be re-inducted as Rajya Sabha MPs, this time from TDP. This is also good news for TDP because it will reopen its account in the Upper House, where it has not had a seat since 2019. 

Mr Rao was earlier with the TDP and represented Andhra’s Kavali constituency from 2009 to 2014. In 2019, he joined the YSRCP. Mr Venkataramana, on the other hand, was with the Congress. He is a two-time MLA who has served as a state minister in the government of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s father, late YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

The exits are a fresh blow to Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party that has been struggling to check an exodus of leaders in the aftermath of the poll setback. Managing just four Lok Sabha seats this time and its Rajya Sabha strength dropping, YSRCP’s influence in Delhi is on the wane.

As for the larger picture, this is good news for the BJP. The NDA recently touched the majority mark in the Upper House and this will help them ensure passage of key legislation. If these two MPs switch to TDP, NDA’s numbers will be bolstered further. 

Sattenapalle, Andhra Pradesh:

The Election Commission on Thursday seized 5,472 sarees featuring the label of the ruling YSRCP, in Palnadu district, said a police official.

A flying squad of the Election Commission fortified by the local police swooped in on a warehouse in the industrial area here around 5:30 pm and broke it open to seize the sarees, the police official said.

“Acting on a tipoff, an Election Commission flying squad raided the godown (warehouse) with police in the industrial area. They found 5,472 sarees with YSRCP label worth Rs 33.6 lakh,” the police official told PTI.

As many as 114 boxes containing 48 sarees each were confiscated. Every individual saree box featured an image of YSRCP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on top, the official said.

According to police, the warehouse is owned by Perumalla Gopal, who leased it to one Bavirisetty Venkata Subramaniam from Sattenapalle, a YSRCP leader.

Police are yet to make arrests in this case but said that Subramaniam is on the run. They are in the process of registering a case under IPC Sections 188 and 171 (E).

Excluding today’s seizure, the Election Commission has seized cash, precious metals, narcotics and others worth Rs 176 crore since January 1 in the run-up to the simultaneous Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena on Thursday summoned the superintendents of police (SPs) of Prakasam, Palnadu and Nandyal to demand an explanation on recent alleged violent events in their districts.

The Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha polls for 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13 and the results will be declared on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)