Dalit leader meets Pinarayi Vijayan, lauds govt for appointing Dalit priests
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Thiruvananthapuram: Dalit outfit Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Monday lauded the CPI(M) led LDF government's decision to appoint persons from the community as temple priests.
Thol Thirumaavalavan, president of the Tamil Nadu based outfit, met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and conveyed the party's gratitude and appreciation on the decision to appoint Dalits as temple priests.
He also submitted a letter to the Chief Minister, terming the decision as 'revolutionary.' "When the country is suffocating under religious intolerance, the bold step taken by the government instills hope and renews the faith in our Constitution', he said in the letter.
The VCK leader also requested Vijayan to find an early solution to the Mullaperiyar dam issue.
On October 9, Yedu Krishnan became the first Dalit priest in Kerala to assume duties at the sanctum sanctorum of the Manappuram Lord at Thiruvalla.
This followed the Travancore Devaswom recruitment Board (TDB), the largest temple body in Kerala, recommending that the Board appoint 36 non-brahmins, including six Dalits, in temples under it.
TDB manages at least 1,248 shrines including the famed Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala.