Tirupati Prasadam controversy: Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan begins 11 days 'Prayaschitta Diksha'

Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], September 22 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Sunday started 11 days 'Prayaschitta Diksha' at Sri Dasavatara Venkateswara Swamy Temple, in Guntur as penance for the alleged use of 'animal fat' in Tirupati Laddu Prasadam given at Tirumala Temple in Tirupati.
In a post on X, Pawan Kalyan announced that he will fast for 11 days to seek forgiveness from lord Balaji.
"I am deeply hurt on a personal level by the malicious attempts made to infuse impurity in the prasad of Sri Tirupati Balaji Dham, the center of our culture, faith, belief and devotion, and to tell you the truth, I feel cheated from within. Right now, I am taking a vow to seek forgiveness from the Lord and am taking a vow to fast for eleven days. In the latter part of the eleven-day Atonement Initiation, on October 1 and 2, I will go to Tirupati and have a personal darshan of the Lord and beg for forgiveness and then my Atonement Initiation will be completed in front of the Lord," Pawan Kalyan tweeted on X.
Janasena Party leader said that he was shocked after he came to know about the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati Laddu Prasadam, adding that he feels guilty for not being able to find out in the beginning the sin committed by the previous government.
"Tirumala Laddu Prasadam, which is considered to be sacred, has become impure as a result of the depraved tendencies of the past rulers. Not being able to detect this sin in the beginning is a stain on the Hindu race. The moment I came to know that the laddu prasadam contained animal remains, I was shocked. Feeling guilty. As I am fighting for the welfare of the people, it hurts me that such trouble did not come to my attention in the beginning," Kalyan wrote on X.
Earlier, Telangana Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanded strict action into the matter.
Speaking to ANI, VHP Vice President Ram Singh, said, "Vishwa Hindu Parishad is demanding that everyone involved in this should get immediately arrested and punished. If the government does not do that, then the Hindu organisations like Bjarang Dal, Sangh Parivar and the devotees of Balaji should take action."
Ram Singh alleged that the people involved in the alleged usage of Ghee, containing animal fat, did it for 'business'.
The row comes days after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients, including animal fat, were used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus, a sweet offered at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, during the previous Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government.
Reacting to the allegations, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged on Friday that the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) is "politicising religious matters." (ANI)