Hindus deeply distressed and hurt: VHP leader on Tirupati laddu issue

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has demanded an impartial probe into the Tirupati laddu prasadam matter and said the Hindus are deeply distressed and hurt over the reports that animal fat was used in its preparation during the previous regime.

VHP's International General Secretary Bajrang Lal Bagra on Friday posted a video on social media while reacting to the reports of animal fat being used in laddus at the Tirupati temple.

"The way in which it has been reported that impure substances have been included in the prasad distributed to the devotees in the temple of Tirupati, the most sacred and most visited pilgrimage site of Hindus. The entire Hindu society is deeply distressed and hurt by this," he added.

Lal Bagra asserted that this type of tempering with the sentiments of Hindus has been done deliberately for a long time."This has caused a wave of anger in the entire Hindu society and the Hindu society will no longer tolerate this type of repeated attacks on their belief. The kind of information that is coming in that the meat of various animals was included in the prasad of Lord Tirupati temple, this is an unacceptable act," he stated.

The VHP International's General Secretary also demanded that a completely impartial investigation of this incident be conducted.

"Such disgusting and evil acts be stopped, but the person or the officer responsible for taking such decisions and implementing them should be criminally prosecuted and punished," he asserted.Lal Bagra claimed that the VHP has been demanding for a long time that the Hindu temples should not be under the control of the government.

"They should be under the control of the society and managed by the society. This Tirupati incident further strengthens the belief of VHP that government control over temples leads to the entry of politics. Due to the appointment of non-Hindu officers there, such impurities are deliberately added to the Prasad and therefore we once again demand that Hindu places of worship, temples, and shrines should be free from all government control. Their control and management should be handed over to the Hindu society," Lal Bagra added.

He also asserted that there are many other issues under this in which the property of temples is being misused and encroached upon. They are sold and they are also used for non-Hindu purposes.

"So, all these issues are still there but this incident in Tirupati has further strengthened our belief that there should not be any kind of control of the government or government officials on the temples, which harms the Hindu's belief," he stated.He further demanded strict action from the Andhra Pradesh government and the Centre into this matter.