Kerala’s opposition has taken a “boycott, but not boycott” stance on the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, accusing the Pinarayi Vijayan government of using Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala for political gains.
The Sangamam is scheduled for Saturday (September 20), at Pampa, the base station of the Sabarimala temple. Jointly organised by the Kerala government and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the event is being presented as part of the TDB’s 75th anniversary celebrations. The Board, which manages 1,248 temples in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, says the programme will highlight rituals, traditions, and devotee welfare, with around 3,000 participants expected. While officials maintain that the event is non-political, the opposition alleges that the ruling LDF is misusing state machinery and temple funds for electoral advantage through appeasement politics.
“We have not declared a boycott, but we have raised three pertinent questions. Unless these questions are answered, we cannot be part of it,” said Opposition Leader V.D. Satheeshan.
The questions he raised were:
Is the government prepared to withdraw or amend the affidavit it filed in the Supreme Court that supported the violation of Sabarimala traditions?
Will it withdraw the thousands of cases registered against political leaders as well as ordinary devotees who took part in the Namajapa protest marches?
Why, after nearly a decade in power without initiating any development at Sabarimala, has the government suddenly revived the Master Plan just before the 2026 elections? Is this not an attempt to mislead the people?
“Before answering these three questions, how can you proceed with the Ayyappa Sangamam,” Satheeshan asked.
AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, MP, meanwhile, said in his open letter to the chief minister that organising the Ayyappa Sangamam in the name of “protecting faith” was sheer hypocrisy on the part of the government.
“The people of Kerala have already understood the political motives and lack of sincerity in the chief minister, who once led the violation of Sabarimala traditions and is now taking charge of the Ayyappa Sangamam,” he said in the letter.
Venugopal also alleged that the chief minister cannot set foot in Pampa without answering the questions raised by Kerala society and that he will be weighed down by the burden of repentance.
The Congress alleges that by implementing the court verdict on women’s entry without holding discussions with the community of believers, the government had created a state of unrest, leaving deep wounds in the minds of devotees. “For the very person responsible for that situation to now organise an Ayyappa Sangamam in the name of protecting traditions is contradictory,” Venugopal said.
Venugopal also accused the Left government of facilitating the violation of traditions by altering the affidavit originally submitted by the UDF government in the Supreme Court in 2016.
Golden attack
On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court ordered an inquiry into the reported loss of 4.541 kilograms of gold from the gold-plated copper covering of the Dwarapalaka idols at the entrance of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple’s sanctum sanctorum. The opposition has used this to intensify its attack on the government. “Before holding an Ayyappa Sangamam, the government and the TDB have the duty to tell Ayyappa devotees and the believers of Kerala where that gold has gone. This is a shocking revelation: the very people who stripped Ayyappa’s idol of its gold are sitting in the government and the Devaswom Board,” said the opposition leader. “Four kilograms of Ayyappa’s gold have been looted. Is this Sangamam being conducted only to cover up that sin? That is exactly the suspicion the current situation creates.”
Interestingly, CPIM state secretary M.V. Govindan made the claim that a senior Congress leader had told the state Devaswom Minister that he would attend the Global Ayyappa Sangamam if invited. “I would not reveal the leader’s name. Since the opposition has not been able to raise any relevant questions regarding the Sangamam, the senior leader himself told the minister that he would attend if invited,” Govindan said. He further stated that the Ayyappa Sangamam is not aimed at appeasement politics.
Govindan also said that it is the CPI(M)’s stance that everyone should participate in the government’s development seminars. “However, the UDF has adopted an approach that is against such cooperation,” he added.
