Kottayam, October 13, 2013: B. Radhakrishna Menon, secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party State unit, has alleged that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is implementing Congress policies in temples.

Mr. Menon told presspersons here on Saturday that the latest example of it was the imposition of a “cess” for the conduct of temple festivals. Earlier, the Board used to extend financial support to the temples to conduct the festivals.

Collection

Last year, the Board had insisted that five per cent of the amount collected by the temple authorities from the public should be used for the conduct of special religious rites in temples.

This year, the Board decided to charge a 10 per cent commission on the collections from the public and use the money for the temple festival.

The Board had remained silent on the decision of the RBI to collect details of the gold owned by the temples. The party found it as a challenge to religious belief and would challenge the move.

Source: The Hindu, October 13, 2013