Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Devaswom board row takes a new turn

C.K. Guptan asserts his powers to decide agenda.

Thiruvananthapuram: The power struggle in the Travancore Devaswom Board took a new turn on Sunday with board president C.K. Guptan asserting his powers to decide the agenda and several other matters including control of officials.

In a statement here, Mr. Guptan sharply reacted to the statements of board member P. Narayanan to the effect that the TDB president had the power only to preside over the board meetings.

Mr. Guptan said such statements were intended to establish that the entire powers of the board vested in the two board members.

Such statements only created confusion among board employees and the public in general.

He defended Cooperation and Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran stating that the Minister had full power over the institutions under his department.

He said all autonomous bodies functioned under their respective departments. Without such powers, it would have been impossible to coordinate the activities of various departments during the Sabarimala season, he added.

The statements of the members that the government did not have any authority in TDB matters on the belief that they would get the support of certain quarters would only serve to put the board in a fix.

He said that the board secretary could present the agenda at board meetings only with the approval of the president. This was the unwritten rule and the proceedings of such meetings would be in vain if any officials functioned against it.

It was impossible to carry on with the board’s functioning with a secretary not cooperating with the president, he said.

He also frowned at the attempts of the members to interfere in the day-to-day administration of the board. The TDB was facing an administrative deadlock because of the interference of the two members on the ground that they were in a majority and need not consult the president.

The crisis would not go away until this situation was ended.

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