‘No other family has caused so much humiliation and sorrow, Thazhamon family should step down from Sabarimala Tantri post’

KOCHI: Senior BJP leader K S Radhakrishnan has demanded the Thazhamon family to relinquish the Sabarimala Tantri post. He alleged that no other family had caused as much humiliation and grief to the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple and its millions of devotees. His remarks were via a Facebook post.

Mohanaru Tantri was arrested from a brothel and later faced trial in a criminal case. The Tantri of Sabarimala-- a temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, who is revered in the form of a strict celibate, had been arrested from such a place.

He further argued that the claim that the Tantri family cannot be removed from the post regardless of any wrongdoing is neither reasonable nor legally valid. Therefore, he urged the Travancore Devaswom Board to take an appropriate decision in the matter. The Devaswom Board has no obligation to appoint anyone recommended by persons facing criminal proceedings merely on the basis of family tradition, without considering their qualifications.