The State government on Monday said the Navaratri procession would take place with traditional piety and within the bounds of the COVID-19 protocol.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran had called a meeting of stakeholders to arrive at a consensus about the conduct of the festival.
Some Hindu groups had organised a belligerent street protest last week, accusing the government of attempting to thwart the age-old tradition of escorting Navaratri idols to the iconic Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple.
Members of the former ruling family of erstwhile Travancore, chief priest of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and representatives of the Kerala Brahmana Sabha attended the meeting chaired by Mr. Surendran.
The conference decided to abandon the customary reception accorded to idols along the procession route.
The meeting also agreed to transport the three idols on palanquins carried by four bearers instead of the usual parade on elephant back and the silver equestrian idol.
The procession will start from Suchindram and reach Padmanabhapuram on October 13. The procession would reach Kuzhithura on October 14 and Kaliyakkavila on October 15. The police would accord a guard of honour.
The procession would rest at the historic Sree Krishna Swamy temple in Neyyattinkara and reach Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple locality at 4 p.m. on October 16.
Mayor K. Sreekumar, Shashi Tharoor, MP, V.S. Sivakumar and I.B. Satheesh, both MLAs, were among those who attended the conference.
BJP charge
BJP State president K. Surendran on Monday said Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran’s bid to thwart the customary Navaratri procession was misplaced and unacceptable.
He said Mr. Surendran’s move to transport Navaratri idols on trucks was an affront to tradition and custom.
Ideally, the government should allow the procession by observing the COVID-19 protocol.
The Minister had attempted to ban the customary offering of ghee in Sabarimala in the name of pandemic control, he said.
Mr. Surendran should realise that he was not the chief priest of the temple to arbitrate on religious observances.
Arbitrary
The Minister had arbitrarily decided Devaswom matters and displayed an unwillingness to consult other stakeholders, including representatives of devotees.
