Sabarimala row rages on, 4 more women denied entry
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With just a day left for the Sabarimala temple to be closed after the monthly pooja, angry devotees continue to block the trekking path to the hill shrine to ensure no women in 10-50 age- group enter the shrine.
On Sunday four women were sent back after protestors found they were below 50 years of age, police said. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, they said they came to the temple without knowing the custom and they were ready to go back.
Since the temple opened its doors after the Supreme Court verdict on September 28 allowing women of all ages to worship at the temple, ten women were sent back. Of those ten, six were activists and media persons.
The hilltop and base camps were relatively peaceful on Sunday comparing to previous days. Two bases camps, Nilakkal and Pambha, had witnessed violent clashes on Thursday and Friday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and other organizations supporting the stir against the verdict took out ‘nama japa’ (chanting hymns) rallies outside all police stations in the state. BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai said if the state assembly passes a unanimous resolution, the Centre can explore the possibility of enacting an ordinance to protect the shrine.
“The state government is fully responsible for the present situation.
It was in a tearing hurry to implement the verdict angering devotees. The Centre can intervene only after the state assembly raises such a demand,” he said.
State police chief Loknath Behra said his force will review its performance after the time temple doors are closed on October 22.
There were many complaints of police excesses and lapses in last few days. He said the three-month pilgrimage season starting in November will be a real challenge to the force.
The Travancore Dewasaom Board (TDB), which runs the temple, is expected to submit a report to the Supreme Court citing the prevailing situation in the temple in a couple of days. The TDB is likely to seek more time to implement the verdict. Similarly 20 review petitions challenging the verdict are also coming up before the apex court. Soon after the verdict Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said his government was committed to implement it and promised security to any woman who wished to visit the shrine.
The haste in which his government is trying to enforce the Supreme Court verdict is turning a big embarrassment for it but the Bharatiya Janata Party is exploiting it to its hilt, said political pundits.
The drama and tension around the serene temple situated in the midst of Periyar Tiger Reserve in Pathanamthitta district is slowly helping a Hindu consolidation and the saffron party is playing its cards well, which is worrying both the ruling front and opposition Congress, they said.