Pawan Kalyan Begins 11-Day Penance At Tirumala Temple Amid Controversy

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan started his foot journey to the Tirumala temple on Tuesday evening. After performing puja at Alipiri Padala Mandapam, he began his trek to the famous hill shrine. He will conclude his 11-day ‘Praschit Deeksha’ (penance) for alleged adulteration of animal fat in Tirupati laddu after darshan at the Sri Venkateswara temple, also known as Balaji temple, on Wednesday.

A large number of leaders and workers from Jana Sena, along with allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gathered at Alipiri to welcome the actor-politician. Kalyan commenced his journey under tight security provided by the police and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). After the darshan, Pawan Kalyan plans to visit the Anna Prasadam center, where devotees receive free meals.

Background of the ‘Praschit Deeksha’

Kalyan began the ‘Deeksha’ at the Sri Dasavatara Venkateswara Swamy temple in Nambur, Guntur district, on September 22, after performing rituals led by priests. He expressed his desire to seek the blessings of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy in Tirumala, hoping to gain strength to cleanse the sins committed by past rulers. The Deputy Chief Minister voiced his personal pain over the alleged use of ghee adulterated with fish oil and animal fat in the preparation of Laddu Prasadam.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu claimed on September 18 that the previous YSR Congress party regime had used adulterated ghee. Following this, the state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations.

Supreme Court’s Intervention

On Tuesday, however, Director General of Police Dwaraka Tirumala Rao announced the SIT would temporarily suspend its investigation due to a Supreme Court order. The apex court had stated that there was currently no evidence indicating that animal fat was used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus during the tenure of former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The court verbally instructed the SIT to “hold its hands” until October 3, the next date for the hearing. The Supreme Court also criticized Chief Minister Naidu for intertwining politics with religious matters, urging him to avoid making public statements based on uncertain facts. The SIT had conducted its probe for three days, inspecting ghee tankers and the TTD laboratory. It also inquired about the quality check procedures for ghee used in the preparation of prasadam.

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