The Kerala government is set to pass a new legislation which will make arms training or drills by socio-religious organisations near temple premises a punishable offence. The Travancore-Cochin religious institutions (amendment) bill proposes upto 6 months in jail or a fine of Rs 5000 for arms training/drills near temple premises in the state.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Devaswom Minister Kadakkampally Surendran had earlier stated that the government will bring in these amendments to stop arms training and drills by religious organisations near temples. According to reports, the draft bill specifies that the properties of the Devaswom must not be used for anything other than matters concerning the temple and the upkeep of its tradition.
As per section 31 (B) points 3 and 4, if an individual, group or association uses the Devaswom properties or its surroundings for any drill with or without arms which are not related to the traditions and rituals of the temple, they could attract a jail term of upto 6 months and a fine of Rs 5000. The police can also directly file a case in this matter.
The bill which was reportedly prepared way back in January, was put on the back-burner due to protests in Sabarimala and the Lok Sabha elections which followed later.
When the Supreme Court asked the Kerala government about the separate legislation with regard to the Sabarimala temple, the state government counsels presented the bill.
The legislation will effectively put an end to RSS using temple premises for daily ‘shakhas’ where exercises and daily lessons are conducted for members. Kerala already has the highest number of RSS units with 5,300 daily shakhas across the state, as of June 2019, where at least 20 workers meet every day for an hour to discuss spreading of the ideology. While bigger states such as Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are divided into pranths or provinces for ease of operation, Kerala being a smaller region demographically and geographically, is considered a single province.
The outfit which is the ideological arm and ground force of the ruling BJP at the Centre, plans to spread across Kerala by the end of 2019.
This year, the RSS plans to penetrate unexplored regions of this state-province and its communist strongholds by setting up a shakha or two in a few wards in these areas.