With the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, organised by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) in association with the Kerala government, having ended, a political debate erupted here on Sunday between the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and the opposition Congress-led Uited Democratic Front over whether the event was a success or a failure.
CPI-M leaders hailed the Sangamam as a "major success", while the opposition dismissed it as a "flop", citing visuals of halls with mostly unoccupied seats during some sessions.
CPI-M state secretary M V Govindan was the first to respond, asserting that participation had exceeded expectations. "We had planned for 3,000 people. More than 4,600 attended. Is that a flaw?" he asked.
Taking on critics, he alleged that sections of the media were running a "fake campaign" and even using AI-generated pictures and videos to "discredit" the event.
Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan said 4,126 persons participated, including 182 foreign delegates (39 from Sri Lanka) and 2,125 from other states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
The remaining 1,219 were from Kerala, including representatives of various devaswom boards.
He maintained that the Sangamam was conducted transparently as per Kerala High Court directions, without inconveniencing devotees and while following the green protocol.
"No complaints were received, including from Karnataka Congress leaders who attended. Allegations of empty halls are baseless -- delegates were attending parallel sessions at different venues," he said.
Vasavan said critics had circulated videos of the venue before the inaugural session to "falsely portray poor attendance."
He emphasised that neither the government nor the TDB had any political agenda, and that the sole aim was to position Sabarimala as a global spiritual centre.
An 18-member committee has been set up to evaluate the recommendations that emerged from the three sessions, and its report will be made public. -- PTI
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