At Ayyappa Sangamam, Pinarayi Vijayan takes on critics: ‘The only true devotees can do this’

“The only true devotees can do this. Those who feign devotion may have a special agenda and they have tried to prevent the gathering of devotees. It is a relief for all of us that such attempts have been prevented by the Supreme court,’’ he said, adding that the event is a “sangamam” –meeting — of those who uphold the concept of devotion in the Gita.

Vijayan, who had faced the ire of devotees in 2018 for having facilitated the entry of young women to Sabarimala following a Supreme court verdict, confined his address to the development of the hill shrine and demonstrated how generous his government has been towards the temple boards (devaswom) in last nine years.

“There is a false propaganda that the government is pocketing the income of the Devaswom Board.  The government does not take a single penny from the board. Instead, it gives money to the board. That is how several temples with relatively meagre income are remaining alive and their employees are not left to starve,” he said.

Explaining the assistance given to the temple boards in Kerala during the nine years of his government, VIjayan said the dispensation had spent Rs 650 crore for the modernisation and development of devaswom institutions from 2016-17 to 2024-25.

In a response to the Sangh Parivar demand that temples be handed over to the faithful, Vijayan recalled how the government rushed help to the temples during the pandemic days.

“During the pandemic, when the daily operations of the devaswom board were in trouble, the government provided financial assistance of Rs 140 crore. Besides, the board was given Rs 123 crore for civil works. Many people do not see such truths. The faithful should ask the people who want temples to be handed over to the believers whether they (such persons) want to see the temples face their miserable past without government assistance,” he said.

To drive home that the Ayyappa Sangamam is meant to debate about the development of Sabarimala and converting the shrine into a major pilgrim tourism centre, Vijayan said: “When there is an open debate about such things (developmental matters), why do those who want the development of Sabarimala object to it. We will ensure the development of Sabarimala only after listening to everyone’s opinions and bringing all people together”.

The Tamil Nadu government was represented by minister P K Sekar Babu and Palanivel Thaiga Rajan, while other southern state governments kept away from the event.

An approach paper on Sabarimala development was presented, which was followed by debates on Sabarimala master plan for development, spiritual tourism circuit and crowd management.

Devaswom minister V N Vasavan later told media that there have been “creative suggestions from the delegates regarding the development of Sabarimala and improving the facilities for pilgrims”.

“An 18-member committee has been formed to look into the suggestions which have emerged in the discussions and the board will go ahead with implementing them,” he said.

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