Pathanamthitta: A group of DYFI and PFI activists try to mess up the festival of Omalloor Raktakanda Swami Temple, which comes under the Tranvancore Devaswom Board. PFI activists tried to enter the temple premises saying they wanted to decorate the area with the communist flags and banners. However, they were stopped by devotees including women by chanting sharanams.
The festival committee members of the temple accuse PFI activists of trying to mess the temple festival by using DYFI as a cover. The devotees say that the PFI activists were trying to incite riots in the region.
The temple festival is for a 10 day period and is the last festival in the central Travancore region. On the basis of an agreement with the Dy.SP, the Devaswom Board and the temple administration council had decided to decorate the temple gopuram with saffron flags and to tie saffron banners above the temple pond and on the temple walls.
It was decided that saffron flags or banners would not be erected along the roads adjacent to the temple. As per the agreement saffron flags were erected on top of the temple.
However, DYFI came out against this and threatened that if saffron flags are placed above the temple gopuram then the flag of DYFI must also be erected there. The Festival Committee members say that for this DYFI District Secretary B Nizam arrived at the spot with a number of PFI activists. The committee members accused that DYFI together with non-Hindus is trying to destroy the festivities of the temple.
This was followed by a huge number of devotees getting on to the road chanting the lord’s name. By this time the CPI(M) leadership realized that things might go out of control and intervened in the matter.
The devotees took a strong stand demanding that they will not budge unless those who came to mess up the temple festival go back. The DYFI and PFI activists had no option but to return after the stiff resistance put forward by the devotees.
Discussion about this post