Kerala Temple Old Tradition Row: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stands firm on his comments on Sanatana, which he made during the inauguration of the Sivagiri pilgrimage. CM Vijayan said that what he had said is correct and I stand by it. At the same time, BJP attacked him and said that he only plays with Hindu sentiments while not saying anything against other religions.
On BJP’s allegations, Kerala CM said in Thiruvananthapuram, “He is not going to change his statement. I stand by whatever I said yesterday. They are trying to portray Sree Narayana Guru as the spokesperson of Sanatan Dharma, which is not correct.” He further said, “My statement was that there is no need to use Sree Narayana Guru as a supporter of Sanatan Dharma.”
What did CM Vijayan say on the practice of removing men’s clothes?
On the practice of men removing upper garments in the Kerala temple, the Chief Minister said, “Swami Satchidananda was the first to propose it. He had said that from now onwards men in Sree Narayana Guru temples will not need to take off their upper clothes to enter those temples. This is a good decision and I have said so. A BJP leader once said that Shri Narayana Guru was a supporter of Sanatan Dharma, so I said that this is wrong.”
BJP took a dig
BJP leader and former Union Minister V Muraleedharan hit back at CM Vijayan’s statement and said that CPIM leaders are insulting Sanatan Dharma. He is trying to please the vote bank of forces working against the national interest. Muraleedharan said, “He is not making any such derogatory remarks about other religions. This is part of the India Bloc’s strategy. Congress is also speaking against Sanatan Dharma.”
Know what is the matter?
In fact, the age-old tradition has been abolished in Hindu temples in Kerala, under which male devotees used to remove their upper clothes. Swami Satchidananda, head of the famous Sivagiri Math, said that this practice is prevalent in many temples in the state and it will not be followed in future. He announced this at the pilgrimage conference and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also present at the event. He supported this step of Swami Sachchidananda.
Also read: CM Pinarayi Vijayan got angry when he called Kerala a ‘mini Pakistan’, said – Nitesh Rane does not deserve to remain a minister.