Thrissur: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s son, Vivek Kiran, made a reportedly private visit to the legendary Guruvayoor Mandir on the evening of April 20, along with his family. He was reportedly accompanied by Mandir officials and staff. When Janam TV’s Guruvayoor reporter Raju attempted to shoot visuals, the situation took a new turn. Temple security personnel allegedly surrounded him and stopped him from filming. They reportedly pushed him and forcibly deleted the visuals from his mobile phone. Raju was reportedly assaulted during the incident.
The Mandir visit of the Chief Minister’s son, along with the alleged attempt by Guruvayoor Devaswom Board personnel to keep the matter under wraps, and the way media personnel were prevented from recording visuals, have now become widely discussed across the state.
Reports suggest that the VIP darshan took place in the presence of Devaswom Administrator K.P. Vinayan. Normally, the media is informed when VIPs visit the temple. However, Vivek Kiran’s visit was reportedly kept confidential. The Devaswom authorities’ apparent effort to keep the visit discreet led to protests. Media personnel gathered at the scene and protested against what they described as an attack on press freedom.
The Devaswom personnel’s apparent effort to keep the April 20 evening visit confidential has also drawn political attention. Pinarayi Vijayan is associated with Marxist ideology, which is often described as atheistic. Political opponents have criticised communist leaders in the state over temple visits by their family members. Critics allege a contradiction between public positions and private practices. There have also been past allegations involving religious symbols and temple offerings linked to political figures. Additionally, spouses of senior CPI(M) leaders, including E. M. S. Namboodiripad and E. K. Nayanar, have been known to visit temples.
Many people in the state continue to question why the visit was kept confidential. Some argue that such visits could be treated as a personal matter. Others suggest that a simple clarification stating that family members act independently might have avoided controversy, rather than the reported confrontation with media personnel and deletion of visuals.
