Pawan Kalyan: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan began an 11-day ‘Prayashchitta Diksha’ or penance at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam here on Wednesday. He undertook the ritual with a purification ceremony to seek divine intervention and atonement amid an escalating scandal over the alleged adulteration of Tirupati laddu or prasadam with animal fat.
Accusations by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu
The row began when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu accused the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government of using animal fat in cooking the sacred Tirupati laddu during its tenure. His claim on September 19 put thousands of devotees, who consider the laddu as sacred offerings to Lord Venkateswara at the legendary Tirumala temple, up in arms and made them fearful.
In turn, the Sri Venkateswara Swami temple at Tirupati performed a “ritualistic sanitation” in order to flush out all the sacrilegious practices allegedly being performed inside it. The ritual was expected to purify the temple after the allegations had brought the sanctity of the temple into question. Apart from that, the Andhra Pradesh government declared a Special Investigation Team on Sunday to probe into the allegations about the laddu preparation in detail.
Swami Srinivasananda’s Accusations Against Jagan Mohan Reddy
Another issue that would further flare up was expressed by Swami Srinivasananda Saraswati, President of the Andhra Pradesh Sadhu Parishad. He hit back at YSRCP President and former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy saying that he had completely set aside Hindu traditions and the sanctity of the temple at Tirumala. Swami Srinivasananda said that Reddy during his five-year term had Christian people in key posts in the temple and misused Hindu devotees’ financial contribution.
As the storm clouds of controversy continue to rage, in the meanwhile, penance by Pawan Kalyan and the investigation by SIT are taken as an attempt to redress the grievances of the faithful and many look forward to a resolution that would restore the glorious tradition of the revered Tirumala shrine.
