The Kerala Kshetra Samrakshana Samithi and the Hindu Aikya Vedi, affiliate organisations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have welcomed the proposal to throw open the doors of Hindu temples to those from other religions, provided they affirm their faith in Hindu rituals and traditions.
At a press meet here on Tuesday, E.S. Biju, general secretary of the vedi, said that they were not averse to letting in singer K.J. Yesudas to the Guruvayur temple too. “Anybody willing to abide by Hindu practices can enter Hindu temples,” Mr. Biju said.
Supporting this statement, K.S. Narayanan, working president of the samithi, demanded that the government stop interfering in the affairs of temple administration in Malabar. Efforts are on by the Malabar Devasvom Board to take over the administration of shrines in the region.
A press release of the samithi quoted him as saying that this was part of a design by the government to make material and political gains by intruding into the affairs of Hindu places of worship.
The government was trying to damage Hindu beliefs as no efforts were being undertaken to reclaim the hundreds of acres of land owned by the board which were usurped by vested interests. Mr. Narayanan said the Devaswom boards being administered by politicians had become a platform for corruption and maladministration and it should be stopped.
The samithi would hold a convention in Kozhikode on October 28 to discuss the future course of action. Chinmayananda Saraswati, head of the Paramartha Ashram, Haridwar, would inaugurate the convention, the release said.
