KOCHI: The Democratic Social Justice Party (DSJP) has strongly opposed the Devaswom Board move to convert gold and silver offerings made by devotees into gold and silver bars. According to the party, the government should not show undue haste in handling temple assets at a time when the question of state control of temples is being questioned before the Supreme Court.
“How can a government that couldn’t ensure even the safety of munitions in the state police armoury, as revealed by the CAG findings, assure devotees that there will not be any fraud in handling temple assets?” the party, which represents forward communities, said in a statement.
The larger question of whether the Devasom Board should control the temples in Kerala is pending before the Supreme Court, which had in similar cases ruled against state control over temples, it said.
“Therefore the government should stop the move to dispose of temple wealth through auction and other means,” the party said. DSJP also appealed to Hindu religious bodies in Kerala to approach the courts against the state move and said the party will support such action in every possible way.