The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have locked horns over the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s controversial order banning the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other outfits with “extreme ideology” from using temples administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) as a front for their martial training, political messaging, physical drills and indoctrination of impressionable youth.
The Devaswom Board commissioner issued the directive on October 20. It has provenance in an earlier Kerala High Court order relating to the RSS’s use of the Sarkara temple premises for holding “sakhas”. The decree would apply to 1,250 State-owned temples under the TDB.
On Friday, Devaswom Minister K. Radhakrishnan said the mandate did not seek to preclude any person or organisation from accessing temples for spiritual and religious purposes.
He dispelled the BJP campaign that the order paved the way for the CPI(M) to wrest control of temples by inserting party loyalists into advisory committees that have a say in the conduct of festivals and other administrative matters.
“A peaceful atmosphere at religious places of worship is a societal imperative. The order upholds that public spirit”, Mr. Radhakrishnan said.
The commissioner has ordered TDB officials to enforce the order stringently or face disciplinary action. He said the laxity on the part of temple officials to implement a similar order issued in May 2023 had forced him to crack the whip.
The official said RSS and local groups promoting extremist ideology continued using TDB temples as a front for their political activities.
He said the organisations imparted martial training to their cadres at night in temple premises and used the grounds for political indoctrination.
Temple officials could seek the help of the police or district magistrate to crack down on such trespasses on TDB property.
The TDB also banned posters, flags, festoons, hoardings and flex boards of socio-political organisations and individual leaders on temple premises and ordered their immediate removal. It called for police-assisted surprise checks at government temples to prevent such activities.
The TDB also banned political protests under the guise of “prayer marches” on temple precincts.
It also disallowed political motifs during temple festivals, including pamphlets and hoardings.
BJP State president K. Surendran has vehemently opposed the move. He said the order was a political stunt to allow CPI(M) to wrest control of temple administration. He said the government’s ban on the RSS “sakhas” was a joke and would only empower the organisation.
