A Kerala priest was arrested after he criticised Kerala Minister for Tourism and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran, on his Facebook page on Wednesday, as reported by Economic Times.

The priest had criticised the minister for arresting K.Surendran, the BJP State Secretary who was arrested for going to the Lord Ayyappa Shrine in Sabarimala despite the orders to the contrary.

T Madhavan Namboothiri is the chief priest or ‘melsanthi’ of the Madiyan Koolom Kshetra Palaka temple at Kanhangad, which is under the management of Malabar Devaswom Board, a government body which manages many Hindu shrines in Malabar of North Kerala region.

He was handed over the suspension order by the Devaswom Board executive officer P. Vijayan. However, the priest pointed out that he is a hereditary trustee of the shrine and hence can’t be suspended.

K Surendran was arrested along with two others on 18 November from Nilackal. A conditional bail to 72 people, including Surendran was given by the Pathanamthitta Court in connection with the Sabarimala Temple row.

The Kerala government has clamped down on devotees imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. It has banned groups of four or more people in Sabarimala and its surrounding areas to avoid protests.

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