By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : The Left Democratic Front (LDF) Thursday asked the state government to probe the contract given for preparing prasadam at the famed Sabarimala temple.
“A lot of interest has been generated in the media about this issue and we decided that a detailed probe be ordered to find out the truth into the contract given for Sabarimala prasadam,” LDF convenor Vaikom Viswom told reporters here after the liaison committee meeting.
The controversy started when the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) cancelled the contract given to the person for the manufacture of the prasadam on the day the temple opened for its annual pilgrimage. This led to a severe shortage of prasadam, forcing the authorities to restrict its supply to the devotees.
The three-member TDB, which oversees the day-to-day functioning of the temple, has C.K. Guptan as the president and P. Narayanan and Sumathikutty Amma as members.
While Guptan is the nominee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) and is also the son-in-law of legendary communist leader E.M.S. Nampoothiripad, Narayanan is a Communist Party of India (CPI) legislator and Sumathikutty Amma is a nominee of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).
Things turned for worse when state Devasom Minister G. Sudhakaran publicly said that the truth would be out only through a vigilance probe against the two members of the TDB, leaving Guptan clean.
This had upset the CPI and the RSP who are members of the LDF-led government.
“The probe that we have recommended to the government is not going to spare anyone or does not include any names,” said Viswom.
Last week, the Kerala High Court asked the TDB members and its officials to work as a team so that the administration would be smooth and the image of the board among general public is boosted.