Travancore Devaswom Board gets new faces, K Jayakumar sworn in as president

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new governing body of the Travancore Devaswom Board has taken charge amid the ongoing Sabarimala gold theft controversy. Former Chief Secretary K Jayakumar has taken charge as the president, and former Forest Minister K Raju as a board member. The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Devaswom Board headquarters at 11.30 am today. K Jayakumar's term is for two years. Ministers V Sivankutty, V N Vasavan and G R Anil also attended the ceremony.

Devaswom Board President P S Prashanth and member A. Ajikumar stepped down on Thursday. It is noteworthy that their farewell meeting was also cancelled amid controversies. The new governing body is taking office in this situation. The government has decided to appoint someone from outside politics as the president.

K Jayakumar was the Vice Chancellor of the Malayalam University for five years after his retirement. He has assumed the new position while continuing as the Director of IMG. K Jayakumar is also notable as a poet, lyricist, translator, painter and scriptwriter. K Raju was previously the Minister for Forests, Wildlife, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development.