Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on the Tirumala laddu adulteration row on Thursday, October 3, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) accused the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) under the former YSRCP-led state government of purposefully weakening the ghee tendering process.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, October 2, TDP spokesperson Anam Venkataramana Reddy alleged that the reverse tendering system (where the auction is initiated by the seller instead of the buyer) was used to purchase substandard ghee at low prices.
Anam showed the media a document from the marketing department of the procurement wing of the TTD which showed a decrease in ghee prices. “From August 2019 to July 2020, TTD procured 22.58 lakh kg of ghee at Rs 389.90 per kg. From August to December 2020, they procured 7 lakh kg at Rs 294.10 per kg. How did they purchase ghee at such abysmally low prices?” he asked.
“While TTD paid Rs 496.90 per kg ghee in 2023, the price dropped to Rs 320 per kg in six months when AR Dairy Foods got the tender,” he said. Anam accused AR Dairy Foods of supplying adulterated ghee and claimed that the sharp drop in procurement costs was the result of a nexus formed between YSRCP, TTD and the ghee suppliers between 2019 and 2024.