A fresh controversy surrounding the alleged misuse of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) surplus funds for organising the Global Ayyappa Sangamam at Pampa in September appeared to dog the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on the eve of the Kerala Legislative Assembly session on Monday (October 6, 2025).
Congress leader and former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan accused the government of illegally diverting the temple’s revenue from devotees to organise a “pre-election political pageant with an eye on the votes of lakhs of Ayyappa devotees.”
Mr. Radhakrishnan alleged that the government had committed perjury by “falsely testifying” in the High Court, while seeking the court’s permission for the meet, that it would not tap into the TDB funds for underwriting the official event. He alleged that private contractors with government connections profited from the “illegal fund diversion.”
No illegality involved: CPI(M)
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State committee member K. Anil Kumar stated that the TDB had informed the court that it would remit the funds to the board’s treasury within a specified time period, contingent upon payment from the event’s sponsors. “There is no illegality as alleged. Those opposed to Sabarimala development are spreading the canards,” he added.
