Thiruvananthapuram: Deviating from its earlier stand on allowing women of all age to visit the Sree Dharma Sastha Temple at
Sabarimala, the
RSS on Wednesday said the “sentiments of millions of devotees” cannot be ignored while implementing the Supreme Court order.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), however, said it was still honouring the apex court’s September 29 judgment, allowing women to visit the hill shrine.
It called upon all the stakeholders, including spiritual and community leaders, to jointly analyse and address the issue by availing judicial options also.
“They must convey their concerns over their right to worship in a manner which best suits their faith and devotion, to the authorities in a peaceful manner,’’ RSS Sarkaryavah Suresh Joshi said in a statement.
The RSS had been in favour of judicial intervention to end ‘retrograde’ religious practices, including restrictions on women from entering certain temples, including Sabarimala.
It changed its tone a day after parts of the state witnessed huge rallies against the verdict. The state unit of the BJP, too, has changed its stand on allowing women, aged between 10-50, into the temple after the protests.
“In the case of Sabarimala Devasthanam, it is an issue of a local temple tradition and faith to which sentiments of millions of devotees, including women, are attached. These sentiments of the devotees cannot be ignored while considering the judgment,’’ Joshi said
The RSS also accused the state government of expediting the implementation of the judgment.
According to sources, the RSS national leadership’s toned-down response to the court order came after getting feedback from the BJP and RSS leaderships in Kerala.
Incidentally, the RSS state leadership held a day-long deliberation on the subject on Wednesday.
After initial cautious reaction, the BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai stepped up his attack on the state government. He declared that the entry of policewomen to Sabarimala would be opposed.
RSS has been endorsing the entry of women to Sabarimala as part of a larger game plan.
On Wednesday, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala demanded the RSS-BJP leadership to work out possible alternatives for circumventing the verdict. He asked whether RSS could force the central government to bring in a legislation to overcome the order.
Chennithala also called on Pandalam royal family members and expressed solidarity with them.
