TIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Having been removed from the position of Attukal Bhagavathi Temple Trust (ABTT) secretary, M Bhaskaran Nair denied doing anything against the temple or the Temple Trust.
Express had reported that the ABTT had removed Bhaskaran, one of its founder trustees, from the post of secretary citing that he had associated with Lekshmy Rajeev, author of the book “Attukalamma, Goddess of Millions”, and had given her access to archival records about the temple.
The book published by Harper Collins had unraveled historical issues about the origin of the temple and myths related to Kannaki.
Speaking to Express, Bhaskaran said he was removed from the post for allegedly colluding with the author and telling her about the evolution of the temple.
He also added that there was a court order to the ABTT to expedite the probe against him and submit a report before initiating any action against him.
Bhaskaran denied charges that he had stated the Aattukal temple belonged to Dalits and backward communities in the past.
“Since the time of Judge Govinda Pillai, ie, since 1850, the temple had been under the control of a group of Nair families. Till 1963 the temple was administered according to an unwritten constitution by a group of Nair community members”, he said.
He said when the trust was formed there were only 28 members and it was in 1979 that the Trust was expanded by inducting 117 members.
“It was following a compromise decree passed by the district court that the Trust was expanded...the incumbent Chairman of ABTT, K P Ramachandran Nair, was the first party among the petitioners,” he pointed out.
Bhaskaran pointed out that he had been instrumental in developing the temple into its current state from the very beginning of the Trust.
“Vested interests are levelling baseless charges against me. I have never acted against the interests of the temple,” he reiterated.