Tirumala temple bans political speeches, warns of legal action against violators

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has banned political and hate speeches at the Venkateswara Temple to preserve the sanctity and spiritual tranquillity of the hilltop shrine. The Tirumala temple management said that the order was issued after instances of individuals, including political leaders, making statements in front of the temple, disrupting its divine atmosphere. "In the sacred Tirumala divine temple, which always reverberates with Govinda Namas, in the recent times, some of the person and political leaders after the darshan in Tirumala temple, making political and hate statements before the media in front of the temple, disturbing the spiritual atmosphere in Tirumala," the TTD said in a statement. Meanwhile, a five-member Special Investigation Team has begun its probe into the allegations of using adulterated ghee to make laddu prasad at Titumala temple during the previous YSRCP regime under Jagan Mohan Reddy. In September, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that animal fat had been used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus during the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led regime, sparking a major political controversy.