Mathura, Sep 25 (PTI) A shankaracharya on Wednesday condemned the “adulteration” of Tirupati laddus and said that to prevent such incidents in future, it should be ensured that the administration of temples is not in the hands of governments but a separate board.
Shankaracharya Adhokshajanand Deo Tirth was talking to reporters in Govardhan here, where he arrived from Guwahati in Assam after observing ‘chaturmas’ there. He was accorded a warm welcome on his arrival at Aadi Shankaracharya Ashram here.
“It is a direct attack on the religious sentiments of people. The guilty should not be spared,” Tirth said on the controversy surrounding the Tirupati laddus.
To prevent such incidents in future, the administration of temples should not be in the hands of the government, he said.
The Centre should form a separate board comprising dharmacharyas and knowledgeable persons and an acharya of the sect which is running the temple should be made its working president, he added.
The row over Tirupati laddus erupted after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients and animal fat were used in ‘prasadam’ during the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government. The YSRCP, in turn, has accused Naidu of indulging in “heinous allegations” for political gains.
Naidu subsequently announced a Special Investigation Team to probe these claims.
Tirth also lauded the Uttar Pradesh government’s directions to all eateries to mandatorily display the name and address of their operators, proprietors and managers.
“The way Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered stringent action against the sale of adulterated eatables and the way thorough checking of eatables has also been ordered, chances of sub-standard prasadam being offered to deities and purchased from outside will now be remote,” the seer said.
Taking cognisance of incidents of spitting and mixing of urine in eatables in Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath on Tuesday directed that the name and address of operators, proprietors and managers should be mandatorily displayed at all food centres.
He also directed that chefs and waiters should wear masks and gloves, besides making installation of CCTV cameras in hotels and restaurants mandatory. PTI COR DIV DIV
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