Neither LDF nor UDF have been taking over temples for years and have been stopping Hindus from performing their religious rites.
RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat had recently called upon governments to return all temple properties under their control to “Hindu society”. It was during his customary Vijaya Dashami address in Nagpur last month. Sarsnaghchalak had said that the government controls most Hindu temples in South India. Bhagwat had demanded that it is necessary and only reasonable that the operating rights of Hindu temples be handed over to the Hindu devotees and the wealth of the Hindu temples be spent and utilised for the worship of the deities and the welfare of the Hindu community only.
Sarsanghchalak pointed out blatant injustices Hindus suffer. He pointed out the exclusive appropriation of Hindu religious sites for decades and centuries, handing over the operations to the non-devotees/irreligious, unethical heretics even though the state is ‘secular’. This is not fair and should be stopped immediately.
Keralites do not carry even an iota of doubt that Dr. Bhagavath’s most significant target was Kerala. Whatever he had said reflects the usual scene in the state, thanks to the pseudo-secular regimes of both Congress-led UDF and CPIM-let LDF ruling the state. The eyes of both are glued to the minority, communal and fanatic vote bank. They know Hindu vote bank is a dream which kisses no one’s eyes in the peculiar political-social scale of the state. Both Fronts compete to prove who is superior to the other in this dirty political business.
In November 2018, LDF Government-controlled Malabar Dewasom Board took over the administration of Parthasarathy Temple near Guruvayoor. The legend of the temple is interlinked with that the Guruvyoor Sri Krishna temple. There are devotees in that place who believe that it was like a ‘terror attack’. Because officials took over the temple during the wee hours… 4.30 am! It was with total police protection! Reason? Simple: Sangh-oriented organisations like Hindu Aikya Vedi had protested against the government proposal for the takeover well in advance. CPM and the government ed had a lame justification: Administration was corrupt! People wondered who would take over the state government, plunged into nose-deep corruption (if corruption is the condition for takeover)!
Last month, the Malabar Devaswom Board took control of the famous Mahadeva Temple in Mattanur, Kannur, the home district of CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
News from Malabar hints that Board is taking over Poyiloor Matappura, a temple dedicated to Parassinikkadav Muthappan, God worshipped by lakhs of devotees in Malabar and the rest of the state.
No doubt, this anti-Hindu takeover spree appears to be a never-ending process. A shameful government action reported from Thrissur, the cultural capital of the state, proves this assumption. Kerala Government has decided to convert Vadakkechira, the ‘Northern Pond”, the holy pond of Asokeshwara Temple, to a tourism spot in the heart of the town. The regime does not care about the protests from the devotees, the Hindus, the ‘no vote bank voters’. Police blocked hundreds of devotees who congregated to perform Maha Arthi and Namajapa Ghoshayathra. (Prayer Yathra). The protest is against Kochi Devaswom Board’s move to desecrate the temple rituals and restrictions by launching boating in the temple pond and food courts on the shore. The authorities stopped the devotees from performing the Namajapa Yathra and Maha Arthi, led by Hindu Aikya Vedi president Smt. Sasikala Teacher, convert the holy temple pond to a tourist attraction!
Hindu leaders allege that government permits political parties and non-Hindu religious communities to run their programmes according to their whims and fancies, but the same administration blocks Hindus from performing their religious rites, including Maha Arthi on Deepavali day. RSS Pranth Saha Grama Vikas Pramukh (RSS leader-in-charge of rural development) P. Unnikrishnan opined during the delivery of the Deepavali message that Deepavali denotes the day of Dharma’s success on Adharma. He hoped this Deepavali would inspire the devotees to defeat the forces of Adharma, who polluted the temple premises.
It looks like the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF ministry is working overtime to insult and weaken the Hindus and Hindu movements. And, neither LDF nor UDF is concerned in this regard. Sangh-oriented organisations are the only rays of hope to translate Sarsanghchalak’s demand into practice.
