As the row over Speaker AN Shamseer’s ‘science vs myths’ speech continues in Kerala, Mollywood actor Salim Kumar took a dig at the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government on Thursday, August 3. “As the conflict around myth and reality takes hold, for the sake of a win for reality, I believe that the Devaswom minister must be henceforth called ‘mythism’ minister and the offerings that fall into temple coffers must be called ‘myth-money’,” he wrote. The actor made his statement on social media, along with a picture of the Kerala Minister for Devaswoms K Radhakrishnan. “Change should begin from administrative centres,” the actor sarcastically noted.
Salim Kumar has made his statement in the midst of a raging political controversy in the state over a speech made by Speaker Shamseer, which the BJP and its affiliates allege to have hurt Hindu religious sentiments. Addressing school children at an event held at Kunnathunad in Ernakulam on July 21, Shamseer while offering criticism against promoting myths in place of science had referred to statements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who presented Lord Ganesha as an example of world’s first plastic surgery.
The BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Nair Service Society (NSS) and several others raised objections to the statement, with the BJP filing a police complaint against him and the NSS organising a ‘faith protection day’ in the state on Wednesday. BJP state president K Surendran even said that the Speaker and the government are facing an opposition similar to what they faced during the Sabarimala protests.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) have stood by Shamseer, with party state secretary MV Govindan saying that there have been attempts to polarise the people by misinterpreting Shamseer’s speech. Shamseer himself asked how promoting scientific temper hurts religious sentiments.
The insinuation in the actor’s comment that the state government benefits from the money offered by devotees however is false. Devaswoms in Kerala, which manage most of the temples in the state, are controlled by the state government. However, Devaswoms in Kerala, which are autonomous bodies, do not have to share their revenue with the government and receive additional budgetary allocations from the state every year.