The pontiff of Edneer Mutt in Northern Kerala on Wednesday said the treasure found in Thiruvanthapuram’s Padmanabhaswany temple belongs to the shrine trust.
Keshavananda Bharati, peetadhipathi of the 1,200-year old mutt, is known for his petition against a constitutional amendment by parliament, which led to a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in the 1970s on the right to property.
The 70-year-old seer, who is in Mumbai to spend the chaturmasya (four-month monsoon period) said it was a mistake to open the temple’s vaults. “The money is the temple’s asset,” he said.
Speaking at the Shankara Mutt at Matunga, he said the money should be used for the welfare of the poor. “The temple trust should be given the responsibility. If the government takes over, only 10% will reach the poor; the rest will be usurped by corrupt officials,” he added.
In the 1970s, the seer had opposed the government’s plan to take away a large part of the temple estate as a violation of the right to property. The apex court’s judgment defined the extent to which parliament could restrict the right to property while following land reforms and redistribution of large holdings to tenants.
