THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The week-long protest by Swami Parameswara Brahmananda Theertha, Pushpanjali Swamiyar of the Sree Padmanabhaswami temple, has turned out to be a political battle. The ruling CPM has extended support to the swami who is staging a sit-in on the path leading to the Ananthasayi Balasadanam, an orphanage run by the RSS-affiliated Seva Bharati. Swami wants possession of the old building on the banks of the Mithranandapuram pond where the orphanage is functioning.
According to swami and office-bearers of Seva Bharati is illegally occupying the building owned by the Munchira Madom. Swami’s claim was confirmed by the local tahsildar who found the building is owned the temple executive officer. “It is highly unfortunate that I’m denied entry into the madom. As per the belief, the madom is not just a residence but a sacred abode which should be preserved like a temple. Women should not be allowed there,” Brahmananda Theertha told ‘Express’. He had to conduct certain rituals like the chathurmasa pooja in the madom. “The samadhi, final resting place, of two former swamiyars are at the madom - one in the courtyard inside the building. As per the custom I’ve to conduct poojas there to appease the departed souls,” he added.
Swami also claims that a panchaloha idol of Lord Sree Rama worshipped at the madom had gone missing.
The swami started his protest with an indefinite fast on the steps of the Mithranandapuram pond on last Sunday. On Saturday he ended the fast and started a satyagraha at the entry point of the road to Mithranandapuram.