Enough of 'Laddu Politics': CPI Calls On Andhra Govt To Prioritise Public Health

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has sharply criticised the way the ongoing budget session in the Andhra Pradesh Legislature has been dominated by the Tirumala laddu controversy, effectively turning it into a "laddu session" rather than a platform for meaningful financial and policy scrutiny. National secretary K. Ramakrishna and state secretary Gujjula Eswaraiah have repeatedly highlighted how both the ruling NDA coalition (TDP-Jana Sena-BJP) and the opposition YSRCP have fixated on allegations of ghee adulteration, confirmed by SIT probes to involve synthetic or substandard ingredients affecting millions of laddus supplied between 2019 and 2024, leading to adjournments, sloganeering, and even physical altercations in the House.

CPI leaders argue that this obsession distracts from the government's core responsibilities, including proper examination of the ₹3 lakh crore state budget, implementation gaps in welfare schemes, stalled development projects, and rising public grievances. They point out that the controversy, while warranting accountability and swift punishment for any proven corruption in the TTD supply chain, has been prolonged and weaponised by all sides for political mileage, eroding democratic decorum and public trust.

In recent statements, including during a February 28, 2026, dharna in Ongole protesting the drug mafia, state secretary Gujjula Eswaraiah explicitly called on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to "put aside the laddu affair" and concentrate on real threats to society. These include the surging drug addiction crisis fueled by organised mafias, the exploitative grip of medical mafias on healthcare services, youth unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, and failures in delivering promised welfare benefits to the masses.

CPI maintains a balanced position: it demands strict, time-bound justice for adulteration and corruption in the laddu preparation process, without endless commissions or delays, but firmly opposes turning sacred religious sentiments into electoral battlegrounds. Leaders like K. Narayana have described such tactics as "morally untenable" and urged cross-party unity for constructive, people-centric debates focused on governance, livelihoods, and health rather than divisive controversies.

With recent developments, including Supreme Court approval for a parallel administrative inquiry, the impending launch of a ₹25 crore high-tech food lab in Tirumala featuring "electronic tongue and nose" systems for ghee purity testing, and persistent blame games between the government and opposition, CPI warns that continued distractions only deepen disillusionment among citizens. The party emphasises that Andhra Pradesh's future depends on addressing tangible socio-economic challenges through policy and action, not sensationalism around faith-related issues.