Ayodhya’s Ram Temple chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, recently revealed that laddoos from the Tirupati temple were distributed to devotees as prasadam during the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22. This statement comes amid a controversy surrounding allegations that animal fat was found in the laddoos at the Tirumala Tirupati temple, sparking calls for an investigation.

"I don’t know the exact number of laddoos sent, but the trust would have those details. Whatever amount was received, it was distributed as prasad to the devotees. The reports of contamination point to a dangerous conspiracy," Das said in an interview with India Today.

The consecration event, which saw the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and over 8,000 dignitaries, involved the dispatch of more than one lakh laddoos by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which oversees the Sri Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh. However, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust, which manages the Ram temple, has maintained that only cardamom seeds were given out as prasadam during the ceremony.

Champat Rai, the general secretary of the trust, clarified, "We distributed only cardamom seeds as prasad. I visited Tirupati once in 1981, and it’s not my place to comment on the controversy. We await the Centre's report on the Tirupati laddoos."

The ongoing row over the alleged contamination has prompted various temples across India to test the quality of their prasadam offerings. At Ayodhya’s Hanuman Garhi temple, authorities reassured devotees that only laddoos made with desi ghee were distributed. Sanjay Das, president of the Sankat Mochan Sena, stated that ghee from reputable brands is used, with regular quality checks and sampling to ensure purity.

The controversy erupted after former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed that animal fat, fish oil, and other non-vegetarian elements were found in the Tirupati laddoos during the YSRCP government’s tenure. He cited a lab report from Gujarat, alleging the presence of "beef tallow," "lard" (pig fat), and fish oil in the ghee used for making the prasadam.