A complaint was filed against Selvakumar and Vinoj P Selvam, two BJP officials, who said ghee from AR Dairy was offered at the Arulmigu Dhandayuthapaniswamy Temple in Palani, Tamil Nadu. The leaders claimed that ghee was used in the production of ‘Panchmirtham (Prasad) in the temple.
The complaint was filed against the BJP leaders by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE), the Tamil Nadu government body that manages the temple in the state.
AR Dairy recently made news by looking at the the controversy surrounding the laddoos distributed at the Sri Venkateswara TempleThirupati. A report by NDDB CALF, an independent laboratory specializing in the testing of animal feed and milk and dairy products, revealed that samples of ghee used in making Tirupati laddoos contained foreign oils, including palm oil, fish oil, beef tallow and lard.
Sekar Babu, minister of the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board, has rejected the claim made by BJP officials and said that ghee for the Palani temple and temples across Tamil Nadu for the production of prasadam is bought only from Aavin, a state government cooperative.
“In Palani, only Aavin ghee is used. If the demand increases, it is obtained from a private company which is not the company dealing with complaints now. Panchamirtham is of the highest quality and all tests are done regularly”, assures Babu.
He also threatened to take legal action against those spreading “false news” and accused Selvakumar and Selvam of “making false propaganda”.
“One of the first orders issued by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in 2021 is that ghee used for temple Prasadam should be bought from Aavin and a circular has been issued. BJP’s Selvakumar and Vinoj P Selvam have tried negative propaganda and a complaint has been given to the police,” Babu said. .
The supervising superintendent Panchmirtham production filed a complaint.
“Chief Minister Stalin is making new plans for HR&CE. One of them was the World Murugan Conference held and people from all over the world who worshiped Thamizh Kadavul Murugan praised the Chief Minister. To destroy that awareness, the gang roams around to communicate any problem that happens anywhere to him. But their dreams will never come true,” said Sekar Babu.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh, headed by the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, had alleged that ghee was being used in making laddoos in the Tirupati Temple, it contained animal fat and fish oil.
AR Dairy, one of the major suppliers of ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), has denied allegations of adultery and said it disputes the findings.