Kollam: Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth said on Saturday that a vigilance probe has been ordered into the alleged display of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) flags and the performance of songs glorifying the CPM at a temple festival in Kollam.

Opposition UDF criticised the incident at the temple and accused the ruling party for shamelessly creating space for the BJP in the state.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, in a statement, said that during the temple festival at Kadakkal temple in Kollam, symbols of the Left party, along with the names of the CPM and DYFI, were displayed in a background video while a singer performed a song about the late party member Puthukudi Pushpan. "Does this person have no other place to sing? Why are the devotees being asked if they know Pushpan? This is a shameless party. Is their goal to create conflict there and make room for the BJP? The problem is that the arrogance of power has gone to their heads," Satheesan contended.

Pushpan was a survivor of the 1994 Koothuparamba police firing incident, which had rocked Kerala. He passed away last year at the age of 54 at a private hospital. He was completely bedridden due to severe injuries sustained during the incident and was considered a "living martyr" of the 1994 firing, in which five DYFI workers were killed.

Meanwhile, the singer, Aloshi Adams, told media that he did not pick the song but performed it upon the audience's request. "As an artiste, my goal is to please the audience. If they had asked for bhakti songs, I would have sung those," he said.

Adams also mentioned that he had performed revolutionary songs at other temple festivals in the past and did not believe he was obligated to sing a bhakti song just because it was a temple festival. Regarding the DYFI and CPM symbols and names appearing in the background during his performance, he clarified that he had not provided any videos or visuals to the organisers.

"The LED wall was already there, and the lighting effects, etc., were handled by the technicians present," he added. The singer stated that he had no objection to the TDB investigating the matter.

Earlier in the day, TDB president Prasanth told media that the display of political flags or symbols inside temples is strictly prohibited by court orders and the Board had issued a circular to all temples under its control reiterating this rule, PTI reported. 

He explained that the temple's management committee had organised the festival programmes, and as soon as the Board became aware of the incident, it issued a notice to them. "We have also ordered a vigilance probe into the matter, and once the report is received, strict action will be taken against those responsible," he said.

Prasanth further stated that last week, a vigilance report was received regarding RSS drills being conducted at a temple in Perumbavoor. "We took the same stand there as well—that political party flags, symbols, or activities will not be permitted inside temples," he said.

TDB member A Ajikumar said that a Board meeting is scheduled for March 19, during which this issue will be discussed. "Our stance is very clear— no temple festival should become a platform for political activities, flags, or symbols. This is our firm policy. Strict action will be taken against violations. The Board has no political affiliations," he clarified.