Pawan Kalyan's Sanatana Dharma Board Push Amid TTD Ghee Scandal

Stating that Sanatana Dharma is one of the oldest and ever-evolving civilisations, he said it's high time that the Sanatana Dharma Parirakshana Board is established with the consensus of all the stakeholders.

The Jana Sena leader reiterated his call while reacting to reports about the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team finding that a Uttarakhand-based dairy, which never procured a single drop of milk or butter, managed to supply 68 lakh kg of ghee worth Rs. 250 crore to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) between 2019 and 2024. The CBI-led SIT found this during its probe into the alleged adulteration of ghee used for making Tirupati laddus.

"For the global Hindu community, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam is more than a pilgrimage centre; it is a sacred spiritual sojourn. The Tirupati Laddu is not just a sweet; it is a shared emotion - we distribute it among friends, family and strangers alike, for it embodies our collective belief and profound faith. On average, nearly 2.5 crore devotees visit Tirumala every year. And when the sentiments and practices of Sanatanis are mocked or undermined, it is not merely hurtful; it shatters the trust and devotion of millions around the world," posted Pawan Kalyan on 'X'.

"Secularism must be a two-way street. Protection and respect for our faith cannot be negotiable. Our Sanatana Dharma is one of the oldest and ever-evolving civilisations, and it's high time we establish the Sanatana Dharma Parirakshana Board with the consensus of all the stakeholders," said the actor-politician.

In another post, he said that the previous TTD Board's colossal administrative failure and immoral actions caused deep, unforgivable hurt and shattered the sanctity of Tirumala, adding that this painful breach of trust must serve as a profound lesson for the present TTD Board, which must continuously work and strive to restore the sanctity of Tirumala and regain the trust of millions of devotees.

"For everyone managing and running TTD - from the Board, bureaucrats, EO, and JEO, down to the employees, contractors and vendors -- your role is not merely a designation or title, but a sacred opportunity to do divine service for millions of Sanatanis. I urge the TTD to begin by ensuring total transparency in all activities - from financial statements, quality control and audits to property and donation management - making every detail publicly available," he said.

"While establishing a Sanatana Dharma Parirakshana Board is a step for the future, the responsibility to safeguard and stand for Dharma remains the collective responsibility of every single Sanatani, and it remains my sincere hope that someday all our temples across the country are managed by the community - by the devotees themselves - this is our duty," he added.

Reacting to Pawan Kalyan's tweet, YSR Congress Party leader and former minister Ambati Rambabu remarked that the great 'Sanatani warrior' Pawan Kalyan finally crawled out of his hibernation to dance to Chandrababu Naidu's propaganda drums.

"Where was this loudmouth 'protector of faith' when 6 devotees died in the Tirupati stampede? Where was his divine outrage when 7 people lost their lives in Simhachalam? Where was the great Dharma Yodha when 9 innocent people died in Kasibugga?" asked Rambabu while questioning Pawan Kalyan's silence over the stampede incidents at temples.

"Not a single visit, not a single word, not even a token acknowledgement. He didn't meet grieving families, didn't offer condolences, and didn't show the minimum humanity expected from a public leader. And when 189,000 kg of cow meat was seized from TDP leader Subrahmanya Gupta's cold storage in Visakhapatnam, the self-declared Sanātani vanished again. No outrage. No condemnation. Silence and hypocrisy," the YSRCP leader said.

"But today, conveniently before YSRCP's November 12 rallies against medical college privatisation, Pawan suddenly wakes up, rushes to X, and parrots Naidu's smear script. This is not Dharma. This is desperate political puppetry," added Rambabu.

- IANS