Amid row over Tirupati laddus, YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy's planned visit to Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala Hills on Saturday is likely to raise political tensions in Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh BJP has called upon Reddy to publicly "declare his faith" ahead of his planned pilgrimage to the temple.
Jagan had announced that he would be visiting the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple as part of a series of temple ceremonies organised by his party across the state.
According to the rules, foreigners and non-Hindus should declare their reverence for Lord Venkateswara to have a darshan of the presiding deity at the hill shrine.
The Tirupati laddu controversy had become a centre point in Andhra politics. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had alleged the use of ingredients including fish oil and beef tallow in the ghee used for the making of laddus in Tirupati temple during Reddy's term.
Lab results confirmed the presence of animal fat in the ghee used for making the laddus.
Andhra Pradesh BJP leader L. Dinakar sought Reddy to apologise for the alleged atrocities against temples during his regime and for utilising substandard ingredients in the ghee for making Tirupati laddus.
"We are given to understand that Jagan Mohan Reddy intends to visit Tirumala on the 28th of this month. The practice of declaring one's faith has been in vogue for decades in Tirumala," said AP BJP chief D. Purandeswari.
Amid the laddu row, several BJP leaders had been observing 'prayaschitta yatra' (penance) to Tirupati to seek apologies from God for the impurities allegedly found in the 'laddu prasadam'.
Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan participated at the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada, as part of his 11-day penance following the allegations of the usage of adulterated ghee.
Meanwhile, YSRCP released the itinerary of Reddy's two-day visit to Tirumala, which involves the former CM departing from Gannavaram Airport for Renigunta at 4 pm on Friday.
"From there (Renigunta), he will proceed to Tirumala, where he is expected to reach by 7 PM and stay overnight," said a YSRCP press release.
At 10:20 am on Saturday, the opposition leader will leave the guest house to offer prayers to Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, the press release added.
