'Time has come to ...': Pawan Kalyan says 'deeply disturbed' with Tirupati laddu lab report

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh's deputy CM Pawan Kalyan has reacted sharply amid the outrage over the "unholy" ingredients used in laddu prasad of Tirupati's Sri Venkateshwara Temple, calling it "deeply disturbing".
Kalyan, a key leader in the BJP-led NDA block, said on Friday maybe "time has come to constitute a 'Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board' nationally to look into temple-related issues".
"We are all deeply disturbed with the findings of animal fat (fish oil, pork fat and beef fat ) mixed in Tirupathi Balaji Prasad. Many questions to be answered by the TTD board constituted by YCP Govt then," Kalyan wrote on X.
"Our government is committed to take stringent action possible. But,this throws light on many issues surrounding desecration of temples ,its land issues and other dharmic practices. Many be the time has come to constitute a ‘Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board’ at a National level to look into all the issues related to temples in entire Bharath [sic]," he further wrote.
Pawan Kalyan, who emerged as a key player in this year's Andhra polls by winning all the 21 seats his party contested, said: "A debate has to happen at a National level by all the policymakers, religious heads, judiciary, citizens, media and all others in their respective domains. I think we all should come together to put an end to the desecration of 'Sanathana Dharma' in anyform."

A major controversy erupted after Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged that animal fat was mixed in the ghee used to prepare the famous Tirumala laddu during the term of the previous YSRCP government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
YSRCP denied the allegations and said Naidu was making wild statements for political reasons.
Naidu said that he was astonished to find that poor quality material was used to prepare Lord Venkateswara's 'prasadam'. He made the comments during an NDA meeting marking 100 days of his government.
On Thursday, the Naidu-led Andhra government made a public laboratory analysis of the cow ghee samples supplied to the Tirumala temple trust for making its laddu.
It revealed the presence of foreign fats including lard (clarified pig fat), tallow (beef fat) and fish oil.
The samples also contained fats from vegetable sources like coconut, linseed, rapeseed and cottonseed.The analysis was conducted on July 23 after the government received complaints of change in taste of the laddu prasadam.
The temple trust prepares about 3 lakh laddus daily and the 'prasadam' is held in high regard by devotees.