New Delhi. The Supreme Court has expressed displeasure over Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s statement regarding the alleged use of ghee containing animal fat and fish oil in Tirupati’s Laddu Prasadam. The Supreme Court strongly reprimanded Chief Minister Naidu and said that he made the statement in the media without any solid evidence or basis. He should have kept God away from politics. The court also said that his statement was not befitting his position and responsibility.
The matter was heard in the Supreme Court on Monday in the bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Vishwanathan. During the hearing, both the judges took turns reprimanding Chandrababu Naidu. The court said- When Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu handed over the investigation into the presence of animal fat in the Prasad to the SIT, then what was the need for him to go to the media? At least keep God away from politics. The bench said- Lab report came in July. But it is not clear about adulteration in it. Expressing surprise, the court said – The Chief Minister orders SIT investigation and then gives a statement in front of the media in September. How can a person holding a constitutional post do this?
The Supreme Court asked lawyer Siddharth Luthra, appearing on behalf of Tirupati Temple, what is the evidence that contaminated ghee was used in making laddus. On this he said that we are investigating. After this Justice Gavai asked – Then what was the need to go to the press immediately? You should respect religious sentiments. After hearing for about an hour, the bench said that we want a suggestion from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta whether the matter should be investigated by the SIT itself or by an independent investigating agency. All the petitions will be heard together on October 3 at 3:30 pm.
On Monday, there were four petitions in the Supreme Court by Dr. Subramanian Swamy, YV Subba Reddy, Vikram Sampath and Dushyant Sridhar and Suresh Chavan. Senior advocate Rajasekhar Rao was present on behalf of Swamy, Siddharth Luthra on behalf of YV Subba Reddy, Mukul Rohatgi on behalf of Andhra Pradesh government and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the Central government. In the presence of these four senior and experienced judges, the court reprimanded the state government, the temple administration and most of all Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The court pulled him up and asked on what basis he came to the conclusion of adulteration. When Mukul Rohatgi talked about the lab report, Justice KV Vishwanath said – the report is not clear yet. If you had ordered an investigation, what was the need to go to the media? The report came in July and the statement came in September. Initial reports say that this was not the material that was used in making the prasad.
Justice Gavai expressed his displeasure and said – When you are sitting on a constitutional post, we hope that you will not make such statements. We expect you to keep God away from this. What was the need to speak so quickly in the media? After this Justice Vishwanath said- Unless you are certain, how can you make such statements in public? In such a situation, what is the point of investigation? When the temple administration told that people had complained about the taste and hence an investigation was conducted, the court asked whether the laddus were sent for testing? The court also asked whether any sample of ghee failed the test and was then sent for testing? No satisfactory answer was given to these questions.