Thiruvananthapuram:
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala on Monday decided to recommend to the government to redraw an ordinance and give voting rights to all Hindu legislators to elect a member to the three Devasom Boards.
"Today's UDF meeting decided to ask the government to redraw the Devasom ordinance and withdraw the clause with regards to faith. We know because of this the Left will be able to elect one of the three members in each of the three Devasom Boards," UDF convenor P.P. Thankachan told reporters after the daylong meeting held at Kovalam.
Last week the entire Left opposition staged a sit-in in front of Kerala Governor H.R. Bharadwaj's residence in Thiruvananthapuram and later submitted a memorandum requesting him not to give the nod for the Devasom ordinance that the Kerala government had put up before him.
The new ordinance has a clause that all Hindu legislators have to sign an affidavit that they believe in god and in temple rituals.
The Left opposition led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist has 46 Hindu legislators while the ruling Congress has 27 Hindu legislators.
The Kerala assembly has 140 members, of which 73 are from the ruling Congress and 67 from the Left.