Kerala minister V N Vasavan accused of misleading Assembly on Global Ayyappa Sangamam funds

Thiruvananthapuram: Posing further trouble to the left-front government in Kerala over Sabarimala, it has come to light that state Devaswom minister V N Vasavan said in the state assembly recently that the amount spent by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for the Global Ayyappa Sangamam was already repaid using the funds received from sponsors.

On Wednesday the special commissioner for Sabarimala Ayyappa temple informed the Kerala high court that of the entire expenses incurred for the event, Rs. 3.4 crore could not be recovered yet through sponsorship. The HC also asked the TDB, which organised the event, to give an explanation in ten days.

However, as per a reply given by the Devaswom minister in the state assembly on January 28, funds from TDB that were used as advance for conducting the Global Ayyappa Sangamam was already deposited back after funds were received from the sponsors. He also said that Dhanlaxmi Bank and Kerala Bank were the major sponsors and the amount they offered were already received. It was due to the delay in getting funds from sponsors that TDB's funds were taken as advance, the minister said in the written reply to the house.

On Wednesday also the minister told reporters that his information was that the advance amount taken from TDB was already paid back once the sponsorship amounts were received. He however maintained that the Devaswom board need not keep on informing the government about financial matters.

The Congress and BJP already launched an attack against the left front over the suspected misappropriation in the funds for Global Ayyappa Sangamam that was held on the banks of Pamba river at Sabarimala on September 20 last year.