Thrissur: V D Savarkar’s image was utilised in ornate umbrellas as part of the impending festivities by the Paramekkavu Devaswom, a famous temple organisation that is among the organizers of the annual Thrissur Pooram. Following objections from the Congress and the CPI(M), the temple administrators withdrew the umbrella.
After the Congress and the CPI(M) expressed objections, the temple authorities reportedly agreed to remove the umbrella from display.
There is also an image of Savarkar on the umbrellas, which include other renaissance and liberation struggle figures like as Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, and other famous personalities from Kerala.
“We will not do anything that will affect the communal harmony or that may hurt the Pooram or affect the religious harmony of the festival. We do not want to politicise the Thrissur Pooram which is an international event. Pooram is above politics,” Paramekkavu Devaswom Secretary Rajesh told PTI.
He would to say if the board chose to remove the umbrella or not, but he did say that the temple administrators do not want any issues surrounding the Pooram.
The umbrellas are part of the Paramaekkavu Devaswom’s “chamayam,” a temple festival exhibition inaugurated by BJP politician and actor Suresh Gopi.
Congress leader Padmaja Venugopal said in a Facebook post that the Sangh Parivar agenda has been “forced into the Pooram” by including the image of Savarkar along with other prominent leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh.
“It’s the Kerala government which has given permission to include Savarkar, who betrayed the freedom struggle, to be included along with Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Bhagath Singh, renaissance leaders like Mannath Padmanabhan and Chattambi Swamikal. It’s a shame that the Sangh Parivar agenda was implemented in a state which is ruled by the Left government,” Padmaja, who is also the daughter of former chief minister K Karunakaran, said in her post.
According to media sources,the images were selected based on the list of freedom fighters released by the Union government as part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.
The BJP and the Sangh Parivar have not reacted to the controversy yet.
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