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Guruvayur Devaswom to withdraw affidavit

Guruvayur: The Guruvayur Devaswom managing committee, which met here on Sunday, decided to withdraw an affidavit filed by its chairman Thottathil Ravindran and administrator V. Ratheesan in the Perinthalmanna Munsiff Court related to Poonthanam Namboodiri, author of ‘Jnanappana’.

The affidavit was submitted in a petition filed by P. Sasidharan of Malappuram district against the Devaswom. The affidavit had said there was no evidence to show that Poonthanam had lived. It also said that Poonthanam’s links with Poonthanam Illam too was based on a belief.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Ravindan and Mr. Ratheesan said they deeply regretted the affidavit. “We apologise for the error. The affidavit was submitted without thorough verification. Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran had directed the Devaswom to correct its mistake,” they said. The next hearing of the case in the Munsiff Court is on April 7.

Activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) burnt effigies of the Devaswom chairman and administrator in protest against the affidavit having been filed. The BJP took out a protest march in the temple town.

The party State general secretary M.T. Ramesh, in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram, demanded the removal of the chairman for filing a false affidavit relating to the Poonthanam legend. Such an action could not be considered an error or an oversight and should be viewed in the backdrop of the constant attempts to interfere in the beliefs and rituals of the Hindu community, he said. The action of the board was shrouded in mystery, he said.

The Shiv Sena on Sunday staged a march to the State Secretariat demanding the ouster of Guruvayur Devaswom Board chairman and administrator on charges of giving an affidavit before a local court to the effect that there was no evidence about the legend of Poonthanam. In a statement here, the Sena demanded the removal of the Devaswom Minister from his post and the appointment of a believer as Minister.

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