Tirupati Laddu row: Jagan cancels trip to temple amid NDA demands to ‘declare faith’

Amaravati: Former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has reportedly cancelled his scheduled trip to the Tirumala Lord Venkateshwara Temple.

The cancellation comes after reports stating that the NDA government has asked the YSRCP chief to ‘declare his faith’ before stepping into Tirumala Temple.

“I read the Bible within four walls, but when I step out, I respect all religions including Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. My religion is humanity; write it in the declaration,” said Jagan Mohan Reddy to the NDA government.

Visited Tirumala several times, says Jagan

NDA demanding Jagan to ‘declare his faith’ before entering the hill shrine is said to be in line with the rules that foreigners and non-Hindus should declare their reverence for Lord Venkateswara before being allowed to have a darshan of the presiding deity.

His much-hyped Tirumala tour was announced as part of the YSRCP’s call for prayers in temples to ‘atone’ for TDP supremo and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s ‘sin’ in casting allegations on the quality of Tirupati laddus. The cancellation of Jagan’s visit came amid demands by the NDA allies in Andhra Pradesh that he should declare his faith before entering the temple.

At a press conference on Friday, Jagan said everyone in the country knows his religion and he has visited Tirumala Temple several times even before becoming the CM.

“TVs are showing thousands of police personnel being deployed in Tirupati to prevent the party leaders from going to the temple. To divert the failures of his (Chandrababu Naidu) 100-day rule, the CM brought up the Laddu issue. To cover up his failures on the issue, he is demanding a declaration of faith. He intentionally planted seeds of doubts on the Laddu quality,” Jagan said.

“I had the opportunity to offer silk robes to Lord Venkateswara Swamy for five years (when the YSRCP was in power). I can understand it. This is not my first time (Tirumala visit),” he said.

‘Ghee rejected by TTD was never used’

Dubbing Chandrababu Naidu's rule as "Rakshasa Rajyam" (kingdom of demons), Jagan also attacked BJP for turning a blind eye on the laddu issue. He reiterated that the ghee which was rejected by the TTD on the account of quality issues was never used in making the Laddu Prasadam (consecrated food, sweet in this case).

"On one side, all our people are being issued notices threatening that they (police) will file cases. On the other side they are bringing BJP people from the neighbouring state to create a law and order problem and a religious issue to cover up Chandrababu's misdeed,” he said.

"As a person who respects and loves Venkateswara Swamy, I do not want to go there and divert the topic. So I am postponing my tour," he said without announcing any fresh date of visit.

CM Naidu last week alleged the use of substandard ghee and the presence of animal fat in the famous Tirupati laddus under the supervision of the previous YSRCP regime.

Earlier, when Jagan announced his visit to Tirumala, AP BJP chief D Purandeswari raked up the issue. In a post on X, she wrote, “We are given to understand that Jagan Mohan Reddy intends to visit Tirumala on the 28th of this month. Declining one’s faith has been in vogue for decades in Tirumala. As per GO MS NO 311 of AP Revenue Endowments 1, Rule no 16, non-Hindus must give a declaration at the Vaikuntam queue complex before darshan in the faith form. This is also as per TTD general regulations Rule 136,” Purandeswari wrote in a post.