Thiruvananthapuram: Devaswom Minister, K Radhakrishnan, in a recent speech had said that he once faced caste discrimination in a temple. The minister’s statement quickly led to a huge controversy and as usual the leftwing cyber warriors began to attack Hinduism and temple rituals.
K Radhakrishnan in his speech said that when he had gone to a temple the chief priest came towards him with a lamp for lighting. The Chief Priest did not hand the lamp towards the Minister but went and lighted the lamp. After that also he did not hand it over to the Minister and gave it to an assistant priest. The assistant priest then kept it on the ground. The Minister said that he did not pick it up and told them to mind their business and left.
Radhakrishnan felt it was caste discrimination and made fun of Hindu temples saying that it did not discriminate the money given to it by people like him.
However, the Akhila Kerala Tantri Samajam refuted his claim of caste discrimination and said that the Minister’s statement was because of misunderstanding about temple rituals.
The Samajam in a statement said that the Chief Priest who comes to the temple to do pooja to the Deity do not touch anyone until the worship of the Deity is completed. There is no difference between a Brahmin or non-Brahmin.
What happened in the temple, which was spoken of by the Minister, was a result of this. The chief priest while doing the worship of the Deity had to come out to light the lamp. After lighting the lamp, the chief priest retired to the worship of the deity to complete his duty. This was misinterpreted by the Minister as practice of untouchability.
The statement said that the matter happened eight months ago and the issue was over then and there. It must be suspected if any hidden agenda is there to bring up this issue now. The priests working at the temple are suddenly charged with serious crimes based on the caste to which they were born.
The Akhila Kerala Tantri Samajam also said that some are trying to insult the temple priest and his caste with accusations of casteism and communalism when the reality is something else. A completely non harmful act is twisted to create communal rift in society.
The Samajam also requests temple devotees not to fall for these controversies.
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