Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 4 (IANS): Days after the Sivagiri Mutt head Swami Satchidananda proposed doing away with the practice of men removing shirts while entering temples in Kerala, the issue continued to rage on Saturday with differing views and opinions surfacing on the issue.
At the same meeting on December 31 where the seer made the proposal, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also supported it. Soon came the first big opposition, when Sukumaran Nair, who heads the Nair Service Society (NSS), the social group of the Hindu Nairs, said that the CM should not have made such a comment.
On Saturday, the first shot against Vijayan was fired by his own cabinet colleague - film star-turned-state Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar, who said it is best that such decisions regarding faith be taken by the appropriate temple priests.
"Every temple has its own sets of rules, rituals, and traditions and let such people decide it... if any authority wishes a change, it should be discussed with the temple priests," Ganesh Kumar said.
Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan said there is nothing wrong in what Vijayan said but the crux of the issue is if there has to be any change in the rituals it has to be discussed by the people concerned in that community.
"There is no need for a public debate on such issues as it has to be decided by the particular community," he said.
President of the Travancore Devaswom Board, the body that runs the administration of temples in south Kerala districts, P.S. Prasanth stated that any reformation in traditions has to be discussed.
Incidentally, Vijayan’s statement came at Sivagiri Mutt founded by social reformer Sree Narayana Guru.
The mutt is the hallowed place of the Hindu Ezhava community which comes under the OBC category and is the biggest group in the Hindu community.
At their temples and those under the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalama Yogam, the social organisation of the Ezhava community led by Vellapally Natesan, do not insist on men removing shirts to enter temples.
Meanwhile, state BJP President K.Surendran slammed Vijayan for his remarks.
"Who is he (Vijayan) to say all this... they are people who are out to destroy temples and the rituals and traditions," he said.