The Tirupati laddus at the popular Tirumala Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh are not being made with Nandini ghee from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) anymore, after nearly 15 years of association. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board picks the ghee vendor through a tender process, and this year, KMF has decided to bypass the tender process, as it could not provide ghee at a competitive rate, especially after a recent hike in milk prices.
While both TTD and KMF have refuted any political motives behind the development, the Bharatiya Janata Paty (BJP) in Karnataka has been blaming the recently-elected Congress government, calling it an ‘anti-Hindu’ policy. The Congress government has hit back, saying Nandini ghee supply to Tirumala was stopped under the previous BJP government.
On Sunday, July 30, KMF president Bhima Naik announced that the temple trust had awarded the ghee tender to another company and that KMF had not participated in the tender process following a price hike in Nandini milk products. So far, TTD authorities have only said that the contract was given to the vendor with the lowest bid, but haven’t named them.
Tirumala Tirupati, a popular pilgrimage site located in Andhra Pradesh, attracts lakhs of devotees every week. The laddus offered to the deity Lord Venkateswara are considered a significant religious offering and a popular ‘prasadam’ that devotees take back home. TTD invites tender for the supply of 1,700 to 2,000 metric tonnes of ghee every six months, and KMF supplied Nandini ghee from 2005 to 2020, according to Naik.
Speaking to reporters in Ballari, Naik stated, "As we announced a hike in the milk price from August 1, the ghee prices will also go up. The TTD has found a new company which provides them ghee to make Tirupati laddus at a cheaper price." Naik also said that KMF could not lower its prices due to fixed rates and in the interest of dairy farmers, making it unable to participate in the bidding process and continue supplying ghee to the temple.
TTD executive officer AV Dharma Reddy said that the trust follows a transparent procurement process through e-tenders, to ensure fairness and equal opportunity for all participants. He said that since the e-tender process keeps participants anonymous until the bidding is opened, the decision is solely based on competitive bidding. He further said that as a government-appointed trust, TTD is obligated to award the contract to the bidder offering the lowest rate.
The decision has triggered a political row, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka blaming the Congress-led government in Karnataka for the shift. The BJP alleges that the recent price hike of milk and other products by the Congress government led to this development. Ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections held in May, the Congress had accused BJP of favouring Gujarat-based Amul over Nandini. Naik, who is also a Congress leader, emphasised that the supply of Nandini ghee to TTD ceased over a year ago and is not a new development.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too maintained that the stopping of supply of Nandini ghee to Tirupati is not new and that it happened during the tenure of the previous BJP government under former CM Basavaraj Bommai.
The Karnataka cabinet had recently approved a Rs 3 per litre hike in the price of Nandini milk. From August 1, the toned milk that was previously sold at Rs 39 per litre will be available at Rs 42 per litre. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that the milk is still competitively priced compared to other regions, where it is sold between Rs 54 and Rs 56 per litre, while in Tamil Nadu, the price stands at Rs 44 per litre.