TP Sunderarajan, the Padmanabhaswamy temple petitioner may have to leave the premises.

^{Written and posted by Suresh Kumar BR}

Mr. TP Sunderarajan got into the limelight when he approached the judiciary for accountability of the assets and finances of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.  Further through the petition the public was made to believe that the erstwhile Travancore Royal Family mismanaged the assets of the temple.  The case is still pending in the court, so I would not like to comment on that now.

Even thought the Kerala High Court had asked the State Government that they could take over the management of the temple, fearing public outcry and the situation being very volatile, the LDF Government under Sri Achuthanandan thought it was not on the interest of the State to take over the temple, and the fight went on to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court then appointed the present committee to get an inventory of the Temple’s assets and rest is what you have been hearing since a month.

Another interesting fact is that, Mr. TP Sunderarajan, a former IPS Officer, and a lawyer, has been housing his office and home, in the temple property near to Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. He approached the then Maharaja of Travancore Sri Chithira Tirunal to get a place near the temple as rent so that he could run his lawyers office and could stay there. The Maharaja offered him the place for Rs. 10/- (RUPEES TEN ONLY), a megre rent, which he stopped paying from 1990, citing the reason that he will pay the rent only to the Maharajah (This is the reason from the news as Mr. Sunderarajan is not available for comment due to the gag by the court).

Where in earth you have that law? If the owner of the place passes away, the heir has the right to get the rent.  Rumours are that he was asked to pay a better rent as per the market condition and he denied paying it.  When pressure was high he refused paying. 

Now that the limelight is on him due to a different reason,  and the old reason is conveniently forgotten by the public and people who are demanding or claiming the ownership of the treasure. 

I would ask the public to be vocal on this issue too and ask him to vacate the premises and thereby keep the sanctity of the temple as it should be.