Kozhikode, June 14 (IANS) Hindu organisations in Kerala will jointly organise a state-wide agitation to free the temples from the influence of political parties, T. Suresh, the state general secretary of Hindu Aikya Vedi (Hindu united forum), said here Saturday. Many of the important temples in Kerala are being administered by establishments called Devaswom boards, which have nominees of political parties at the helm.

The forum will organise congregations of devotees in 10,000 villages in October to mobilise the Hindu community in the state. All Hindu households will be told about the issue through pamphlets, Suresh said.

The organisation will collect 10 million signatures in support of their cause. The signatures will be submitted to the Kerala chief minister in January at Thiruvananthapuram, where a rally will also be organised.

“The committee for temple liberation stir has already been formed at the state level. The district-level committees will soon come into being; followed by village level committees in July and August.”

Suresh demanded that the administration of temples be solely entrusted to the devotees. “During the present Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule, the temple administration in the state has worsened as devaswom boards are being employed for political ends,” he alleges.

“It is not right for the political parties to meddle in temple affairs. Why should a secular government intervene in the affairs of temples when this is not the case with the places of worship of other religions?”

The forum said that the government is not giving proper attention to the conduct of temple affairs. “The authorities are only interested in the temple coffers.”

Suresh denied that they are being supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or other political organisations in this agitation.