Amidst controversies over the Kerala CM's stand over women's entry to the temple, the Sabarimala temple opened for the Uthram festival. The temple will remain open till March 28 and it is mandatory for devotees to carry a Covid negative test report.
Both the opposition parties, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and BJP-led National Democratic Front (NDA), are using the issue as a token to campaign against the Pinarayi government ahead of the Assembly polls.
CPI Kerala secretary Kanam Rajendran came up to justify the Pinarayi government by saying that the troubles in 2018 were due to the fallout of the Supreme Court order. He said, "Everyone is bound to respect the rule of law in the country. Now, the case is in the Supreme Court larger Bench there are seven questions of law which the nine-judge Bench will be deciding. Presently, there are no issues in Sabarimala and problems are there only in certain people`s minds. Let the verdict come out."
While reacting about the Sabarimala issue, the Chief Minister said that there is no confusion and the affidavit will be corrected when the case comes up for hearing. He further said that currently there is no issue over Sabarimala and said that they will hold talks with all concerned after the Apex Court delivers its final judgment over the issue.
The same CPM-led LDF government in Kerala in 2018 implemented the Supreme Court order, which allowed the entry of women of all ages at the temple, the devotees gave a befitting reply in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. This may be the reason why the Kerala government has changed its stance for devotees over the Supreme Court ruling.
In addition, earlier, during the election campaign in the Kazhakoottam constituency, Kadakampally Surendran expressed "regret" over the implementation of the Supreme Court's order that had created turmoil in 2018-19. However, Yechury defended by justifying the LDF government's stand on the Sabarimala issue.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Nair Service Society (NSS) explained that the legal battle over the Sabarimala issue is still under the consideration of the Supreme Court's full bench. NSS General Secretary G Sukumaran Nair criticised Kanam's attempts to save the government. He said, " While accusing the NSS of lining up people against the government upon losing the case, he also requests us to wait until the final verdict. This itself shows that the case has not yet been settled." In the statement, Sukumaran Nair said that the change of the LDF government's stance over the sabarimala issue is only to fool the devotees.
