Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy Offers Prayers at Sabarimala
Kochi/Pathanamthitta, June 15: Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy, accompanied by several leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular), undertook a pilgrimage to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala on Monday.
According to party sources, Mr. Kumaraswamy had been planning to visit the famed hill shrine, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, for some time. However, the pilgrimage materialised as a sudden decision. Before proceeding to Sabarimala, he wore the sacred mala at the Sree Subramanya Swamy Temple in Kochi and resumed his journey to the temple.
Party leaders said that Mr. Kumaraswamy had visited Sabarimala on multiple occasions in the past. "This is his first visit to Sabarimala after assuming office as a Union Minister," sources noted.
The Union Minister was accompanied by JD(S) Legislature Party leader C.B. Suresh Babu, MLA Sharanagouda Kandakoor, MLC S.L. Bhoje Gowda, and former legislators Sa. Ra. Mahesh, C.S. Puttaraju, R. Manjunath and H.M. Ramesh Gowda, among others.
Sabarimala, one of the country's most prominent pilgrimage centres, attracts millions of devotees every year, particularly during the annual pilgrimage season dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.