Sweet and sour: On the laddu ‘adulteration’ case  

Last week, the Supreme Court of India rightly asked the petitioners in the case of the alleged adulteration of ghee used in the famed Tirupati laddu prasadam not to make the Court a “political battleground”, but the issue is unlikely to remain one about ensuring quality control of a food item associated with pomp and sanctity. By appointing an “independent Special Investigation Team (SIT)” under the direct supervision of the Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Court deftly made the Centre accountable in ensuring an impartial inquiry. But given the composition of the five-member SIT — two CBI officials, two Andhra Pradesh police officers and a domain expert from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) — questions are likely to be raised about its neutrality. The CBI and A.P. police come under the jurisdictions of political alliance partners, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by A.P. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The Centre’s conduct in court is likely to invite further allegations of bias, where it expressed ‘full confidence’ in the SIT formed by Mr. Naidu before the Court decided to hand the case over to the CBI-led SIT. Mr. Modi’s government has not expressed such confidence in inquiry panels set up by Opposition-ruled States such as the one in West Bengal to inquire into corruption allegations against the Saradha Group’s ponzi scheme in 2013.

The laddu issue has already taken on communal overtones with A.P. BJP chief and Rajahmundry MP Daggubati Purandeswari seeking a ‘declaration of faith in Lord Venkateswara’ from former A.P. Chief Minister and YSRCP chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, a Christian. Mr. Reddy had to cancel his visit to Tirupati in September after protests by cadres of the ruling TDP and its allies, the BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s JSP. They have blamed the erstwhile Jagan Mohan Reddy administration of complicity in the alleged adulteration. The Naidu government buttressed Ms. Purandeswari’s demand by releasing “declaration of faith” documents signed purportedly by Bollywood actors and even former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. As The Hindu reported, the gas chromatography method, used to detect dairy contaminants, is unlikely to determine the exact quantum of “foreign fat” in the ghee samples. The central government must ensure that there is an impartial inquiry into the allegation that there was an attempt to contaminate the ghee supplied by a dairy in Tamil Nadu, samples of which were tested on July 6 and July 12. It must ensure that this is done without communalising the issue.