Pawan Khera accuses BJP of 'polarising' discourse amid Tirupati 'prasadam' row

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) Amid the raging row over "adulteration" of the 'prasadam' at the globally renowned Tirupati temple, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday trained guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused it of "polarising" the discourse in an election season.

Khera, the Congress national spokesperson, alleged that BJP is trying to gain political mileage by allowing conspiracy theories to fly thick in the air, even as the startling claims about Tirupati laddus remain to be substantiated.

He, however, said that if the claims of desecration of Tirupati Laddus are proven right, a full-fledged inquiry must identify the guilty and the strictest possible punishment must be meted out.

"If the claims are wrong or motivated then, millions of devotees of Tirupati will not forgive those playing with their faith. Until then, it suits the BJP to allow polarising conspiracy theories to fly thick in the air in election season," Khera wrote on social media platform X.

The massive row over the "desecration" of Tirupati temple prasadam broke out after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu made startling claims about how the laddus were adulterated under the regime of the YSR Congress led by Jagan Mohan Reddy.

He said that animal fat including "beef tallow" was being used in Tirupati 'prasadam' instead of ghee at the famed Sri Venkateswara temple, hurting the religious sentiments of crores of Lord's devotees.

While the allegations triggered a political slugfest, with TDP and YSR Congress taking shots at each other, a laboratory report emerged on Thursday evening, corroborating the allegations.

It confirmed the use of beef tallow, fish oil and tard (related to pig fat) in the laddus distributed to crores of devotees at Tirupati.

A couple of YSR Congress spokespersons dismissed it as a ploy by CM Naidu's TDP to "discredit and malign" former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and also an attempt to consolidate Hindu votes.

Many BJP leaders, including Union Minister Sanjay Kumar Bandi, have demanded a detailed probe to identify the culprits and strict punishment for the act of "sacrilege" against Lord Venkateswara.