Governor P.Sathasivam on Monday sought a clarification from the government regarding an ordinance cleared and forwarded to him by the Cabinet for amending the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 to reduce the tenure of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) members from three to two years.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran met Mr. Sathasivam in the evening and furnished the clarification. The Governor expressed his doubts about dissolving the board when preparations for the Mandalam and Makaravilakku festivals at Sabarimala were progressing.
Mr. Sathasivam had received complaints regarding the ordinance from BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, and TDB chief Prayar Gopalakrishnan.
The government informed the Governor that preparations for the festival had been completed and it was being reviewed at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Devaswom Minister time to time.
