Bhumana Slams Govt Over One-Member Panel on Tirumala Laddu Ghee Row

Senior YSRCP leader and former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy has strongly criticised the State government’s decision to appoint a one-member committee to review the SIT report on the alleged adulteration of ghee used in Tirumala laddus.

In a statement released on Friday night, he questioned the rationale behind constituting a fresh panel headed by retired IAS officer Dinesh Kumar after the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which conducted its probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India , had already completed its inquiry and filed a chargesheet. He alleged that forming another committee at this stage amounted to undermining the authority of the apex court and the established judicial process.

Targeting Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu , Bhumana accused him of launching a “fresh political drama” for electoral gains. He maintained that the year-long SIT investigation, led by the CBI across eight states, had found no evidence implicating YSRCP leaders. Since the allegations failed to stand scrutiny during the probe, the government was now attempting to revive the issue through a single-member committee to target Opposition leaders, he charged.

Drawing parallels with earlier inquiries, he remarked that the outcome of committees formed over the Vaikunta Ekadasi stampede was well known, suggesting that the latest move was part of a pre-scripted political exercise.

Questions Over Heritage Links

Bhumana asserted that the real culprits in the laddu ghee controversy were already evident to the public. He demanded a thorough investigation into the entities behind dairy firms that supplied ghee at lower prices between 2013 and 2019. He specifically referred to alleged links between Heritage Foods and Indapur Dairy & Milk Products Ltd, claiming that until February 10, 2026, the latter had been identified as a manufacturing unit of Heritage. He alleged that the stance changed once the controversy surfaced.

Ignoring these aspects and instead targeting Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and other YSRCP leaders reflected the government’s political motives, he said.

The former TTD chairman also criticised the removal of former TTD Executive Officer A.K. Singhal and the decision to send another official on leave, calling them attempts to evade accountability. He demanded that the Chief Minister apologise for dragging the sacred Tirumala prasadam into political controversy, warning that the public would deliver a fitting response otherwise.

Meanwhile, TDP leader M. Gurunatham dismissed the allegations as baseless. He accused the YSRCP of conspiring to tarnish the reputation of Heritage Foods, stating that the company, which began with a capital of ₹4 crore, has grown into a ₹4,000-crore enterprise and continues to enjoy public trust.