Thiruvananthapuram, 25 May (H.S.):Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Monday strongly rejected reports claiming that devotees at the Guruvayur Temple were inconvenienced during his recent visit, describing the allegations as a “false story” and insisting that no worshipper faced any disruption because of his presence.

Speaking to reporters, Satheesan said there had been no special arrangements that affected ordinary devotees and stressed that he had deliberately kept his entourage to a minimum. According to him, only four people accompanied him during the visit, making it one of the smallest official entourages for a serving Chief Minister visiting the temple.

“This is completely false news. Sunday is not a day for VIP darshan at Guruvayur. It is not as if I am the first Chief Minister to visit the temple,” Satheesan said.

He explained that among the four people accompanying him, one was a local official associated with the temple administration and another was his security personnel. “Only my gunman accompanied me. The rest were those normally present during such visits,” he said.

The Chief Minister also clarified that he had entered the temple after purchasing a ₹1,000 ticket for darshan and had intentionally avoided seeking any special privilege that could trigger controversy.

Describing the sequence of events inside the temple, Satheesan said the temple ritual of Seeveli was in progress when he arrived. He waited until the ritual concluded before offering prayers. He further said that while he was proceeding to worship at the sub-shrines, a Guruvayur Devaswom security guard briefly stopped devotees from moving ahead.

“I immediately told them that people should not be stopped because of me. My prayer should never become an inconvenience to another devotee,” he said.

Satheesan added that he stood to the side and offered prayers while devotees continued moving freely without interruption. According to him, several devotees later approached him and appreciated the manner in which the visit was conducted.

“I knew this could become controversial, which is why I even bought a ticket. Please don’t say that I should stop going to temples as well,” the Chief Minister remarked.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman