Two non-Brahmin priests at a temple in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli have alleged that hereditary priests have not allowed them to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the presiding deity, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

The priests, S Prabhu and Jayapal, were appointed in 2021 at the Kumaravayalur Subramania Swamy Temple in Tiruchirappalli as part of an initiative of the Tamil Nadu government to open priesthood to all castes.

In a petition to the state government, Prabhu and Jayapal claimed that they had not been allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple’s main deity, Murugan, even though they had been serving there for three years. They alleged that they have been restricted to conducting rituals only at the secondary shrines at the temple.

The priests addressed the petition to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments PK Sekar Babu, as well as top officials from the ministry, PTI reported.

Prabhu and Jayapal told the state government that they had been “completely sidelined” ahead of a consecration on February 19.

They said that while devotees at the temple treat them with respect, the hereditary Brahmin priests deny them equal rights.

“This discrimination has caused us immense mental distress and humiliation,” they said in the petition, according to The Indian Express. “We wonder how we can face our families and our villagers when we are kept away from the very rituals we were appointed to perform.”

The state minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments has not yet commented on the matter.

Since 2022, a total of 382 persons, including 15 women, have completed government-certified training to become priests. However, only 29 of them have been appointed till now, The Indian Express reported. Another 92 persons are currently undergoing training.

In September, the Pattali Makkal Katchi, a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, alleged that the Tamil Nadu government had not been able to protect the rights of non-Brahmin priests.

“Ten out of 24 non-brahmin archakas appointed under the scheme alleged they were not allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple to perform pujas by the hereditary priests,” party founder S Ramadoss had said, according to The Hindu. “Instead, they were only made to clean the temple premises.”