Sabarimala row: Will implement SC order, says Kerala as temple board holds talks with stakeholders

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Tuesday reiterated that it will fully implement the Supreme Court order allowing women of all ages to enter the revered Sabarimala temple and no warned that no one will be allowed to take the law into their hands.

''We will not allow anyone to take law and order into their hands. The government will ensure facilities to devotees visiting the Sabarimala Temple to offer prayers. The government will not submit a review petition. We've said in court that we'll implement the order,'' Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

We will not allow any one take law & order in their hands. The government will ensure facilities to devotees to go to #SabarimalaTemple and offer prayers. Government will not submit a review petition. We've said in court that we'll implement the order: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan pic.twitter.com/TgyZnc0xOO — ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2018

The remarks from Vijayan came even as the Sabarimala Temple board began talks with all stakeholders to resolve the issue and discuss various other aspects related to the annual pilgrimage season which begins next month.  

Travancore Devaswam Board, which manages Kerala`s Sabarimala temple, had invited the representatives of Pandalam Royal Family, Sabarimala temple priests and their organisation and Hindu outfits for a meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting began at Devaswom board office in Trivandrum around 10 AM.

Trivandrum: Travancore Devaswom Board meets ahead of opening of #SabarimalaTemple tomorrow #Kerala pic.twitter.com/bcaU1Wxnn3 — ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2018

Importantly, the doors of the revered shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is scheduled to open on October 17, implementing the recent Supreme Court`s verdict that lifted a ban on entry of women aged between 10-50 years into the temple.

During the meeting, the current situation surrounding the uproar among a section of followers against the apex court ruling was discussed, according to TDB president A Padmakumar..

On September 28, the apex court allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple saying that "no physiological and biological factor can be given legitimacy if it doesn`t pass the test of conditionality".

Although many, including the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government, welcomed the decision, a section of followers has been staging protest across the country opposing the ruling.

Meanwhile, the BJP had set a 24-hour deadline for the Kerala government to resolve the Sabarimala temple row or be prepared to face consequences.

Chanting mantras of Lord Ayyappa and waving party flags, thousands of BJP workers on Monday trooped into the Kerala capital demanding that the Left Front government file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict allowing female devotees of menstrual age to offer prayers at the shrine.

With the contentious issue fast acquiring political overtones, BJP workers and sympathisers, including a large number of women, laid a virtual siege to the state secretariat in a massive show of strength against the government which has said it would enforce the apex court's order and not go for a review.

The protesters, some clad in black and many others carrying garlanded pictures of the eternally celibate deity, had begun the "Save Sabrimala March" from Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district to Thiruvananthapuram, a distance of around 90 km, on October 10.

Addressing the gathering outside the secretariat, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao assailed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the government's decision against filing a review petition.

"Ayyappa devotees not only in Kerala but across the country are disturbed by the recent developments. The state government is responsible for the crisis," he said.

The protest march concluded just two days before the Sabarimala shrine opens to the public on October 17. It would be closed on October 22 after the five-day monthly puja during the Malayalam month of Thulam.

Enforcing the Supreme Court order allowing girls and women between 10 and 50 years of age into the shrine could be a daunting task for the government with several religious outfits threatening protests.

The state's Industries Minister, EP Jayarajan, meanwhile, accused the 'Sangh Parivar' and the Congress of trying to incite violence over the emotive issue.

On the other hand, the BJP, a marginal player in Kerala politics, has been extremely critical of the Communist government's decision against seeking a review of the Supreme Court order, while the Congress, which earlier welcomed it, changed tack and said it was with the Ayyappa devotees.

Politics in Kerala has been dominated for years by the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front spearheaded by the Congress, and political power has alternated between the two for decades.

The divergent stand of the Left and the Congress, which may seek to align at the national level before or after the Lok Sabha polls next year, stems from their adversarial relations in Kerala politics.

The BJP, despite expanding its presence in the state over the last few years, largely remains a fringe player. 

The BJP and its local partner Bhartiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) pocketed over 14 percent votes in the 2016 assembly polls but the saffron party could manage to win just one of the 140 assembly seats.

The BJP-RSS cadre is locked in bloody feuds with the CPI(M) for quite some time, leaving scores of people dead over time.

(With Agency inputs)