As temples in Kerala are all set to open on Tuesday amid relaxation in lockdown, the issue has snowballed into a political controversy with various Hindu groups and BJP alleging that they were not consulted by the CPI(M)-led state government during the talks with various stakeholders regarding the opening of places of worship.
BJP State President K Surendran in a statement issued here on Monday said that the government convened a meeting of leaders of many faiths to decide on the reopening of the places of worship for believers. However, it excluded important orgsations such as the Temple Protection Committee among others, he said.
"Representatives of many other Hindu orgsations were not present at the meeting. Chief Minister should immediately call a meeting of Hindu leaders to ensure inclusive participation," he said.
He also said that instead of giving importance to the opening of temples, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should give priority to give financial assistance to those temple employees who are facing hardship.
Former Kerala BJP State President and the present Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan took to Twitter alleging that the Kerala government's decision to reopen temples despite opposition from devotees smells foul.
"Neither the devotees nor the temple committees demanded the opening of temples. What is the haste? Is this a deliberate attempt by the atheist Pinarayi Vijayan government to denigrate devotees? The government must heed to the voice of devotees and withdraw its decision," he said on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Government is going ahead with its plans to open all places of worship on Tuesday. This despite the fact that many mosques and churches in the state have made it clear that they would not open for the time being considering the COVID-19 situation.
In Kerala, the government-run Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) controls 1,250 temples including major temples like Sabarimala.
( With inputs from ANI )