Ensure no caste barrier in archakas selection: Vaiko

The supreme court judgement that archakas could be nominated only based on the agama sastras was the death knell for social equality advocated by the state government, said MDMK leader Vaiko. He said the judgement was against the ideas of Periyar who wanted people from all castes to be archakas as against the current practice of priests being chosen from a specific group, he added.

Stating that the government plan to place 207 persons who underwent one and a half years training in specially selected Saivite and Vaishnavite centres was stayed when archakas of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai went to court, he added that the AIADMK government made no move to expedite the case.

Underscoring this, Gandhi people’s movement founder president Tamilaruvi manian in a statement called on the AIADMK government to file a review petition in the supreme court to set right this social injustice as the judgement would only strengthen caste. He said if the agamas were against social equality there was nothing wrong in trying to set it right as was done in the case of untouchability, sati and sexual harassment of women.