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A new political and legal controversy has arisen over the visit of Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan to Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that during the Chief Minister’s visit on Sunday, there was a blatant violation of the orders issued by the Kerala High Court regarding VIP darshan at the temple, due to which common devotees had to face huge inconvenience.
Let us inform that Chief Minister VD Satheesan had performed special prayers at the Guruvayur temple on Sunday (24 May 2026) and also performed the traditional ‘Thulabharam’ ritual there.
What is BJP’s allegation?
BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan has submitted an official complaint to the Guruvayoor Devaswom administration. He claimed on social media that:
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Darshan in restricted time: As per the rules of the High Court, there is a complete ban on VIP darshan from 6 am to 12 noon on Sundays and other holidays. Despite this, the Chief Minister and his fellow leaders were given special VIP entry between 7:30 and 9:30 in the morning.
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Charges for entry without receipt: Gopalakrishnan alleges that the CM was given darshan without taking ‘Sreekovil Neyavilakku’ receipt of ₹4,500, whereas this receipt is mandatory for special darshan on holidays.
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Violation of ban on photography: Despite videography and photography being banned around the temple premises and Melpathur auditorium, several leaders, including Congress MP Hibi Eden, made videos there.
The BJP leader has warned that if the Devaswom administration does not take action on this rule violation, they will approach the court.
Chief Minister VD Satheesan denied the allegations
Seeing the growing controversy, the Chief Minister has rejected all these allegations outright. In his statement he said:
“Whatever claims are being made regarding my Guruvayur temple visit are completely false. I am well aware that VIP darshan is not allowed on Sundays. I had taken the prescribed ticket for darshan. Only four people were present with me and we have completely followed all the rules of darshan.” Along with this, he took on those doing politics on this issue.
Temple administration (Devaswom) gave clean chit
Those who are handling the management of the temple on this whole matter Guruvayoor Devaswom Has given clean chit to the Chief Minister.
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Official explanation: The Devaswom clarified through a social media post that since Sunday was a holiday, the Chief Minister had darshan as per the rules only after getting the prescribed Sreekovil Neyvilakku receipt of ₹4,500 issued.
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Chairman’s statement: Guruvayoor Devaswom President AV Gopinath said that prima facie there does not appear to be any case of violation of any rule by the Chief Minister or his party. However, he admitted that complaints have been received from some common devotees that they could not perform the puja on time due to the VIP movement of the Chief Minister, which will be investigated.
Questions raised again on ‘VIP culture’ at religious places
This controversy has once again fueled the debate on VIP culture and discrimination against common devotees at major religious places in the country. Critics believe that faith and equality should be paramount in God’s court, where there should be no different rules for leaders, officials or influential people. On the other hand, the temple administration argues that such special arrangements have to be made for the safety of specific people and crowd management.
