Amid ongoing controversy over Tirupati prasad, a woman devotee has made a shocking claim that when she broke the laddu given to her as prasadam at the famed Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, she found tobacco wrapped in paper inside. However, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) refuted the allegations and asked her to store the laddu for investigation.
Tirupati prasadam has been in the news since last week after Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, citing a Gujarat lab report, claimed that the sought-after offerings distributed during the previous government’s tenure contained animal fat. CM Chandrababu Naidu’s allegation has sparked a political storm in the state.
According to an India Today report, Khammam district resident Donthu Padmavati claimed that she visited the Tirupati temple on September 19 and brought back the prasadam to distribute among family and neighbors.
Padmavati said she was heartbroken after finding pieces of tobacco wrapped in a small paper inside the laddu as she was about to distribute the sacred offering.
Padmavati’s claim came as a major shock to Tirupati devotees, who were already reeling from the news that the ghee used for the laddu was contaminated with animal fat.
These incidents have raised serious doubts among devotees about the hygiene and overall purity of the prasad distributed at famous religious places.
In response, the TTD refuted the claim that Tirupati laddu contains tobacco packets, stating that the viral content has caused unnecessary controversy. The laddus, made with great devotion by Sri Vaishnava Brahmins at the Laddu Potu in Tirumala, adhere to strict protocols and are prepared under constant CCTV monitoring, the TTD explained.
"It is misleading and unacceptable to imply the presence of tobacco in such a carefully regulated process," the TTD stated.
Nonetheless, TTD contacted the devotee and requested them to preserve the laddu for investigation.
