Cong rakes up Sabarimala women's entry issue ahead of polls

Raking up the Sabarimala women's entryissue ahead of the coming assembly polls in Kerala, Congresson Monday urged the LDF government to seek legal remedies to''heal the wounds created in society'' due to its allegedhastiness in implementing the Supreme Court order, permittingwomen of all age groups into the hill shrine.

Senior party leader Oommen Chandy shot off a letter toChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, urging him to move the ApexCourt, seeking speedy consideration of the review petitionsfiled against its order allowing entry of women in themenstrual age group in the temple.

The petitions are currently under the consideration of alarger bench of the Supreme Court,headed by the Chief Justice.

''There should not be a delay in healing the woundsafflicted in the minds of Ayyappa devotees due to the SupremeCourt order and efforts by the state government to implementit using police force'', the former Chief Minister said.

The move by the veteran Congress leader, who recently gota lead role in the Congress-led UDF's poll campaign, came evenas the CPI(M) was reportedly taking steps to ensure that theSabarimala issue is not discussed in the coming polls.

In his letter, Chandy said the state's plea before theApex Court should be based on the affidavit filed by the UDFgovernment in 2016, the verdict of the Kerala High Court in1991 and clauses of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu ReligiousInstitutions Act, 1950.

He noted that in 2016, the UDF government headed by himhad filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the entryof women in the 10-50 age group, highlighting the legal,customary and factual issues involved in it.

However, the LDF government took a stand with thepetitioners, who filed the plea seeking entry of women in allage groups in the hill shrine.

It was contrary to the positions taken by the TravancoreDevaswom Board, which manages the administration of thetemple, he noted.

The LDF, particularly CPI(M), had drawn flak from severalquarters over the women's entry issue for its allegedhastiness in implementing the Supreme Court order.

In the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, post-Sabarimalaagitation, the LDF had suffered a massive drubbing, losing 19out of the total of 20 seats.

The CPI(M), however, regained lost ground by winning therecent civic body polls.

The party, which conducted a door-to-door campaign postthe LS polls, had admitted that a section of believers hadmisunderstood the Left on the Sabarimala issue.

''A majority of the believers in the state are Leftsympathisers, but the recent incidents surrounding theSabarimala temple young women entry issue had created amisunderstanding among them.

This was revealed by some in the house visits we made,''then CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had said inJuly 2019 during a house visit programme organised by theparty.

Kerala had witnessed high drama during the nearly threemonth long annual pilgrim season in 2018 with around a dozenwomen in the 10-50 age group being prevented from entering theSabarimala temple by protesting devotees after the doors wereopened for all women following the apex court verdict.