Relief for Royal family; Hindu outfits attempt to seize the opportunity

Thiruvananthapuram: The royal family of Travancore are highly relieved after the Supreme Court verdict which restored the administrative rights of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple to the family after  a 13-year long legal battle.

Meanwhile Hindu outfits including Sangh parivar factions are up in arms to seize the opportunity and exploit the verdict as a weapon against the government and Devaswom Board.

The BJP has already started campaigning that the judgement is a setback to the government who want to take over the temples. The party also demanded the government to give away temples including Parthasarathy Temple in the wake of the judgement. The party holds that the judgment is a blow to the government measures in temples including Sabarimala and that the Devaswom board has lost its relevance.

The judgment is a temporary relief for the royal family which has been handling the administrative affairs of the temple for years. The legal tussle in the matter started in 2007 following allegations that the valuables including gold of the temple were being swindled by the royal family. It is yet to see if the B vault of the temple, which was at the centre of attention in the process,  will be opened.

The temple gathered global attention after the vaults of the temple, with treasures of invaluable assets worth several thousand crores, were accounted for, after opening them.