AP Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan arrives in Vijayawada's Kanaka Durga Temple as part of his 'Prayaschitta Diksha'

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan arrived at Kanaka Durga Temple, in Vijayawada on Tuesday morning to perform a purification ritual, as part of his 11-day 'Prayaschitta Diksha' to atone for the alleged use of animal fat in the preparation of the Tirupati Laddu Prasadam.

Pawan Kalyan on Sunday said that the guilty must face punishment and alleged that during the YSRCP regime, 219 temples were destroyed. "During the YSRCP regime, 219 temples were destroyed. I questioned the destruction of these temples.

We will not tolerate this, and strict action will be taken. What has the TTD board done in the past five years? Hindu devotees must speak out. What was once sacred has been desecrated. The guilty must face punishment," Kalyan said on Sunday.

Earlier in a post on X, Pawan Kalyan announced that he will fast for 11 days to seek forgiveness from lord Balaji.

"I am deeply hurt on a personal level by the malicious attempts made to infuse impurity in the prasad of Sri Tirupati Balaji Dham, the center of our culture, faith, belief and devotion, and to tell you the truth, I feel cheated from within.

Right now, I am taking a vow to seek forgiveness from the Lord and am taking a vow to fast for eleven days. In the latter part of the eleven-day Atonement Initiation, on October 1 and 2, I will go to Tirupati and have a personal darshan of the Lord and beg for forgiveness and then my Atonement Initiation will be completed in front of the Lord," Pawan Kalyan tweeted on X on September 21.

Pawan Kalyan earlier said that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams board was "altered for political gain" by the previous government. The Deputy CM's statement comes as he started 11 days 'Prayaschitta Diksha' at Sri Dasavatara Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Guntur as penance.

"Prasadam distribution has been ongoing for more than 100 years. But under YSRCP's rule, TTD board was altered for political gain. The Sri Venkateswara Trust was established, leading to various scams. Worship protocols were changed, and over 300 temples were desecrated," Kalyan said.

Kalyan further alleged that Ayodhya had also received 'contaminated' laddus from TTD during the YSCRP regime. "I question whether authorities are following protocols in all temples. Fish oil, beef tallow, and pork fat have been found in prasadam.

Even Ayodhya received contaminated laddus from TTD during the YSRCP regime," Kalyan said. The row comes days after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients, including animal fat, were used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus, the Prasdam offered at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, during the previous YSRCP government.