Kottayam, as a scene of empty chairs of the global Ayyappa Sangam, began to roam on 21 September (IANS) television channels and social media, Kerala Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan offered a clarification on Sunday, which was misleading and politically inspired by criticisms.
The minister clarified that the total participation of 4,126 devotees and dignitaries was observed at the one -day spiritual and cultural conference held in Kottayam. Of these, 2,125 came from outside Kerala, which represent states like Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Another 182 participants arrived from abroad, including 39 from Sri Lanka. In addition, 1,119 Ayyappa devotees traveled in vehicles organized by various Devaswom boards of the state.
Explaining the images of empty chairs, Vasavan said that the main site itself had 4,000 seating ability, which was filled during the opening session. He said, “Hundreds of people coming for the inauguration could not be kept inside and had to stand up. After the inauguration ceremony, many participants moved to other halls to participate in parallel panel discussions. The vacant seats seen in the visuals were just the results of inviting their respective places.”
The minister criticized the trend of photographs, showing empty chairs, arguing that he was being used to portray a false picture of the incident.
He said, “Only specially invited in the main session. The visual opening ceremony is a small interval after the opening ceremony, and they are being misused to spread misleading stories,” he said.
Vasavan further underlined that the conference was fully complained. He said that a senior Congress leader from Karnataka, who participated in the program, also did not increase any concern about the arrangements.
He said, “This incident was smooth, well organized and a grand success. Participation was more than expectations, and no one who took part, did not take back dissatisfied,” he said.
Criticizing the media of CPI (M) State Secretary MV Govindan, the minister deliberately accused some outlets of attempting to tarnish the image of the global Ayyappa Sangam. In fact, he stressed, “The conference achieved his goal of bringing devotees from India and abroad together in a unique spiritual congregation.”
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Aal/DPB