AMARAVATI: YS Jagan Cancels Tirupati Visit Amid TDP's Faith Declaration Demand
Opposition leader and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has canceled his scheduled visit to the Tirupati Lord Venkateshwara Temple, sources confirmed on Friday.
The highly anticipated trip to Tirumala was part of the YSRCP's call for prayers in temples to atone for what they called TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's "sin" in questioning the quality of the Tirupati laddus.
Although Reddy's visit was canceled just hours before his departure, no official reason was given. The cancellation coincided with calls from NDA allies in Andhra Pradesh for Reddy to publicly declare his faith before visiting the temple.
In response, Reddy stated at a press conference that his religion is well-known, and he has visited Tirumala multiple times, even before becoming Chief Minister. He added that while he reads the Bible privately, he respects all religions, including Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism.
Reddy criticized the heavy police deployment in Tirupati, claiming it was meant to block his leaders from visiting the temple. He accused Naidu of raising the issue of the Tirupati laddus to distract from the failures of his government, saying, "Naidu planted seeds of doubt on the laddu quality to divert attention."
Reddy also dismissed allegations of substandard ghee being used in the making of the Tirupati laddus, stating that the ghee rejected by the TTD for quality concerns was never used in the prasadam.
Naidu had recently accused the previous YSRCP regime of using substandard ghee and even claimed the presence of animal fat in the famous Tirupati laddus.