Will move SC for gag order on Tirupati laddu row: Ex-TTD chief Subba Reddy

Former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman and YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP Y.V. Subba Reddy on Thursday announced that he intends to approach the Supreme Court for an order to curb what he calls a “misinformation campaign” over the alleged use of adulterated ghee in the Tirupati laddu prasadam. In other words, he would very much like everyone to stop talking about it until further notice.

The move comes amid a Supreme Court-mandated Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the now-infamous laddu row — a controversy that has seen political parties, officials, and self-appointed custodians of piety squabble over whether the world’s most famous laddu has been tainted.

The issue spiralled last year after reports suggested that substandard or adulterated ghee may have entered the supply chain, prompting a flood of selective leaks, speculative arithmetic, and breathless headlines about “crores of contaminated laddus”, most of which, Reddy insists, have a passing relationship with evidence.

Claiming that TTD’s reputation is being muddied and devotees’ sentiments toyed with, Reddy said he was even willing to undergo “satya shodhana pariksha” — a public truth test — along with a lie detector test. A rather dramatic offer, though he seemed confident it would prove his innocence and perhaps silence critics who appear to be enjoying the spectacle a little too much.

At a press conference in New Delhi, the former TTD chief expressed anguish — and more than a hint of irritation — at the way the sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara had been dragged into political crossfire through what he described as a calculated campaign of misinformation.

The Supreme Court has already warned political actors not to weaponise Tirumala for partisan ends, but that caution, he remarked, now seems to be honoured mainly in the breach.

“The misinformation campaign in the last few months is damaging TTD’s reputation. I will approach the court seeking a gag order till the investigation is complete,” Reddy told PTI, seemingly resigned to the fact that a gag order may be the only way to stop the numbers game no one asked for.

Adding to the confusion, the TTD had previously clarified that suspicious ghee tankers were rejected and never used in laddu production. Yet contradictory statements — and creative reinterpretations — continue to circulate, leaving devotees unsure of what to believe and fuelling conspiracy theories ranging from bureaucratic incompetence to divine displeasure.

Citing the SIT’s preliminary findings, Reddy noted that four tankers under scrutiny had reached TTD facilities in June–July 2024, during the Chandrababu Naidu government, and were used again in August under different distributors’ names. “Worse,” he said, “the TTD administration provided incomplete figures and speculative calculations instead of releasing proper laboratory reports.”

This, he argued, had allowed sensational claims that 20 crore laddus were adulterated between 2019 and 2024 — an accusation he dismissed as fanciful and fact-free.

Even the pricing of ghee, he alleged, was being massaged for political narratives — although massaging ghee is perhaps the only part of this saga that would not surprise anyone at this point.

Hoping to end what he called selective blame-shifting, Reddy has asked the SIT to examine ghee quality over the past 10–15 years rather than restricting the probe to 2019–2024. After all, if everyone insists on digging, they might as well dig properly.

Escalating matters further, he accused the Naidu administration of having illegally deposited TTD funds in a private bank during 2014–19. “Rs 1,200 crore of temple funds were placed in a private bank in violation of terms,” he said, hinting that the current storm over ghee may not be the only skeleton rattling in the temple’s storeroom.

Calling for restraint — preferably immediately — Reddy urged the government, TTD administration, and media to “act responsibly”, stop peddling unverified claims, release certified lab results, and avoid playing with devotees’ emotions. Tirumala, he suggested, deserves dignity — and perhaps a break from the nation’s sudden forensic obsession with laddus.

With PTI inputs