Govts must hand over temples to Hindu society: VHP amidst Tirupati laddu row

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday termed as “intolerable” the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati laddus and demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government hand over the control and management of the temple to "Hindu society".

VHP secretary-general Bajrang Bagda also pitched for “freeing” all temples and other Hindu religious places from government control across the country, as he demanded legal action against those allegedly involved in desecrating Tirupati laddu prasadam.

“Tirupati incident further strengthens the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s belief that government control over temples leads to entry of politics. Owing to the appointment of non-Hindu officials there (in temples under government control), such impurities are deliberately introduced into the prasad (consecrated food),” Bagda said in a video statement.

Bagda said the VHP has been demanding for a long time that temples and other religious places of the Hindus should not remain under government control. “We reiterate our demand that all temples and other places of worship be freed from the government’s control. The management and control of all temples and Hindu religious places should be handed over to Hindu society,” he said.

Bagda termed the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati laddu prasadam as “intolerable and a disgusting act”, and said Hindu society is distressed and hurt with this report.

Hindu society will not tolerate such “repeated attack” on its faith, he added. “We believe that the Andhra Pradesh government and the Central government will give serious consideration to it in view of the gravity of the issue,” Bagda said.

The VHP secretary-general demanded a thorough probe into the Tirupati laddu case and legal action against those involved in it. VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal also demanded that the Tirupati temple and all other temples be freed from government control across the country.

“It’s not just Tirupati temple which is under the government’s control. There are over four lakh temples under control of governments in respective states across the country," Bansal said.

"Our stand is clear on this issue: governments must vacate the temples and their property, and hand them over to Hindu society, Hindus are the rightful trustees of the temples, not the governments,” he told PTI.

The VHP will soon launch a massive campaign against government control over temples and other Hindu religious places, Bansal added.

Amid the Tirupati laddu row, Congress MP and Lok Sabha leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the issue needs to be thoroughly looked into and asserted that authorities across India have to protect the sanctity of religious spaces.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's claim that animal fat was used in Tirupati laddus under the previous YSRCP government has triggered a massive political row since Wednesday, with the YSRCP accusing Naidu of indulging in "heinous allegations" for political gain, and Naidu's Telugu Desam Party circulating a purported lab report to back its claim.

At an NDA legislative party meeting on Wednesday, Naidu claimed that the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government "did not even spare the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati", and used below par ingredients and animal fat to make laddus which are distributed to devotees across the world.

Nearly 1 crore pieces of the consecrated sweet are sold per month, gifted and shared by devotees and politicians alike. Accompanied by the deity's idol, a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) branded shawl and a calendar, the laddu is shared by Andhra Pradesh chief ministers whenever they meet the prime minister or any important Central government functionary, cutting across party lines.

The sacred sweet is so much in demand that during the last 10-day Vaikuntadwara Darshan, 36 lakh laddus were sold last year. Between 2019 and 2024, former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy gifted the laddus, idols and other articles from the temple to Prime Minister Narendra Modi every time Reddy visited Delhi.