The ghee used to prepare ‘Panchamirtham prasadam’ at the Palani Lord Murugan temple is procured from state-run Aavin, the Tamil Nadu government said on Friday.Referring to claims on social media that AR Dairy, a company that supplied ghee to Tirupati Lord Balaji temple, was also selling ghee to the Palani shrine, the government in a post on ‘X’ from its Fact Check handle said that it was an out-and-out false claim.
“The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department has clarified that the ghee used to make Panchamirtham at the Palani temple is procured from Aavin,” the post said.
Aavin, is a state government run dairy cooperative. Panchamirtham is made from five ingredients, ghee, honey, banana, jaggery and cardamom.
A row has erupted following Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s claims of low quality ghee and alleged presence of animal fat in the laddus made and distributed at the Tirupati temple.
AR Dairy, based in Dindigul in southern Tamil Nadu has said that its products have been duly certified by authorities for its quality, including the ghee supplied in the months of June and July to the Tirupati shrine.