BJP will urge Governor not to sign ordinance extending tenure of Travancore Devaswom Board: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], November 5 : Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that the party will urge the Governor not to sign the ordinance proposed by the Pinarayi Vijayan government to extend the tenure of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).
"Even after the disgraceful revelations of corruption and loot, including the Sabarimala gold heist, the government is preparing to bring an ordinance extending the Board's term by one more year. This clearly indicates that the Pinarayi government is determined to protect those involved in looting the Sabarimala temple," Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, according to a BJP release.
BJP leaders said that Kerala High Court itself has remarked that several actions of the Devaswom Board related to the gold theft are suspicious.
They said despite such severe criticism from the High Court, the government is reportedly moving swiftly to extend the tenure of the current Board members, whose term is set to expire on November 14, 2025 by one more year," the release said.
Under the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950, the Board's term was originally three years. However, in 2017, the LDF government reduced the tenure to two years in order to remove certain members who still had a year left in office.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the government's move to continue the current Board members without responding to legitimate demands for the resignation of the Devaswom Minister, "investigation into corruption allegations, or reconstitution of the Board, is extremely dangerous".
"The power to issue an ordinance should be exercised only in extraordinary circumstances. The government is misusing constitutional provisions to allow members under a cloud of suspicion to remain in office," he said.
He further alleged that this is a malicious attempt to legitimize the accusations against the current Board members. "The decision to divert temple assets, including Sannidhanam gold, for repair works was also taken during their tenure. The BJP will strongly urge the Governor not to sign this ordinance, which is an insult to the Ayyappa devotees of Kerala," Rajeev Chandrasekhar added.