Amid the controversy over the "adulteration" of Tirupati laddus, the famous Mankameshwar temple here has banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.

The Mankameshwar temple's Mahant Devya Giri on Monday said the distribution of "adulterated" 'prasad' in the Tirupati temple was an "unpardonable crime".

"In view of the adulterated prasad being offered in the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, we have requested devotees to ensure that the prasad they offer does not contain any non-vegetarian ingredients.

"For this, we have requested the devotees to bring prasad made with homemade ghee or dry fruits or else offer fruits," Giri told PTI Videos.

She said though this directive is causing some difficulty, everything is insignificant before the sanctity of the temple.

"We never thought that non-vegetarian food would be served as prasad in a temple. This is a very big incident. There can be no bigger blow to Sanatan dharma. So, the administrators of all Hindu temples will have to make joint efforts to provide vegetarian prasad," Giri said.

On the Tirupati laddu "adulteration", she said, "This is an unpardonable crime. The people responsible for this should not be given any punishment less than death." The row erupted after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients and animal fat were used in Tirupati laddus during the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government. The YSRCP, in turn, has accused Naidu of indulging in "heinous allegations" for political gains.

Naidu subsequently announced a Special Investigation Team to probe these claims.

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