Karnataka orders Nandini ghee usage at all temples amid Tirupati laddoo row

The state government has ordered the usage of Nandini ghee, which is produced by the Karnataka Milk Federation, for all temple rituals including the making of prasada.

The government circular has been quoted by NDTV, "In all the notified temples under the Religious Endowment Department of Karnataka State, it has been directed to use only Nandini Ghee for services, lamps, and preparation of all types of prasada and in Dasoha Bhavan. It has been suggested to maintain the quality in the prasada prepared in the temples."

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has come under massive fire from the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over claims of animal fat in ghee that was used to make Tirupati laddoos during his tenure.

Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy Food Pvt Ltd, which supplied ghee to Tirumala in June and July, said its consignments had cleared multiple lab tests.

Its quality control officials said they have documents to prove all test reports had cleared the ghee sent to the temple. The dairy said it supplied just 0.01 percent ghee to Tirumala.

The row erupted when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu slammed his arch-rival YSR Congress and its chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy over a lab report showing animal fats in ghee used to make laddoos offered as prasad, or devotional offerings, at the temple town of Tirupati.

According to a July 17 report from the Centre of Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) lab at the center-run National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat, released Wednesday, it was found that animal fat was used in ghee, which is one of the ingredients, to make the famous Tirupati laddoos when the YSRCP was in power.

The report stated that the ghee contained traces of fish oil, beef tallow, and lard, the latter of which is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.

"Even Tirupati laddoo was made with substandard ingredients... they used animal fat instead of ghee," the Chief Minister said at a legislature party meeting in Amravati on Wednesday.

He declared his government was making sure that a higher quality of ingredients was being used, including that of ghee, and that all food offerings at the iconic temple were now of improved quality.

In his first reaction since the controversy broke Wednesday, Jagan Mohan Reddy slammed the "false report", and accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his TDP of "using faith for politics".

Shortly before Reddy responded, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court alleging a violation of Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of religion, including the right to practice.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has asked for a "detailed report" and Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi has called for a detailed inquiry. "... the culprit should be punished," he told reporters.