Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay taking part in the ‘path sanchalan’ (route march) as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) centenary celebrations in Karimnagar on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: ARRANGEMENT
The Karimnagar-based Ayyappa Seva Samithi has urged Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay to ensure Central Cultural and Faith-Sensitive Heritage Protection status for the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala to safeguard the sacred temple from ‘local misadministration’.
A delegation of the Ayyappa Seva Samithi led by its members K Parameshwar Guruswamy and P. Satyanarayana Guruswamy submitted a memorandum to this effect to the Union Minister in Karimnagar on Sunday.
In the memorandum, the Ayyappa devotees said the serious allegations of misappropriation of gold and procedural violations at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple have caused grave distress to crores of Ayyappa devotees across the country.
They said, “Sabarimala is not merely a temple under administrative control – it is a constitutional trust of faith, protected by Article 25 and Article 26 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees devotees the right to worship and protect their religious institutions from mismanagement.”
They sought a CBI-monitored audit or Central Heritage Asset Review and wanted all temple valuables to be managed under a digitally logged public inventory system in line with CAG audit standards for religious institutions.
Earlier in the day, Mr Sanjay flagged off the padayatra of Ayyappa devotees from Karimnagar to Sabarimala as part of a spiritual journey.
Mr Sanjay took part in the ‘path sanchalan’ (route march) held as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) centenary celebrations in Karimnagar on Sunday evening.
Published – October 12, 2025 09:55 pm IST
