Government does not take single penny from temples, says Kerala Devasom Minister

Hitting back hard at the allegations of government forcefully taking over Thrissur Parthasarathy Temple, State Minister for Devasom, Kadakampally Surendran, has said that the government does not take even a single penny from temples in Kerala.

All the donated money is utilised for the development of temples and to pay salaries of the employees. Surendran's statement came amid fuming protest in Thrissur after the Malabar Devasom Board took over the Parthasarathy Temple.

In his Facebook post, Surendran states, "The Government took over the temple following the direction of Honorable High Court. Judiciary intervned after there were allegations about severe mismanagement and corruption by former governing bodies. However, the members of the governing body are not willing to handover the necessary data and locker keys as they fear that their malpractices will be unearthed."

Some people are trying to spread lies that the government is taking over only Hindu places of worship. This is misleading, many churches and mosques have been closed owing to differences in opinion among various groups. In this case the court directed the government to take over since there is a designated department for temples in Kerala, posted Surendran on his Facebook.

Tension still prevails in the temple premises after the Devasom Board took over the Parthasarathy Temple on November 7. The BJP and VHP had called for a bandh in the district to register their protest against the move.