The Pandalam Palace and the Sabarimala tantris of the Thazhamon Madhom at Chengannur have decided to attend the meeting called by the Travancore Devaswom Board in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

Pandalam palace managing committee president P.G. Sasikumar Varma told The Hindu here that the decision of the palace came after consulting the tantris as well as various Ayyappa devotees’ groups who were waging peaceful protests against the government move to implement the Supreme Court order permitting women of all age groups to enter Sabarimala.

Mr Varma said the decision of the palace should not be mistaken as dilution of its stern stand against the court order that amounted to violation of the age-old tradition, custom and practices at the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.

Mr Varma said the palace would place its demand not to permit any woman in the age group of 10 to 50 years, as in the previous years, to Sabarimala. He said there was no question of the Pandalam palace giving nod for permitting women in the prohibitory age group to Sabarimala.

Mr Varma said the people of Kerala would reject the alleged political move by certain quarters to portray the ongoing Ayyappa devotees’ agitation as an ‘upper caste movement.’

He said thousands of devotees, majority of them women, were taking part in the ‘namajapa’ processions across the State, above all political, casteist and religious considerations.

Mr Varma said the government and the TDB should try to understand the ill feelings of the scores of Ayyappa devotees against the court verdict and act accordingly. There were instances in the recent past when the government brought in ordinances to protect the interests of the liquor lobby and two private medical colleges. But the people of Kerala were keen to know as to what made the State reluctant to protect the interests of the scores of Ayyappa devotees, instead of showing undue haste in implementing the court order, Mr Varma said.

Tantris to attend the meeting

The Sabarimala tantris, Kandararu Mohanararu, Kandarau Rajeevararu and Kandararu Mahesh Mohanararu, said they would be attending Tuesday’s meeting in Thiruvanananthapuram.

They said the tantris were also part of the Devaswom Board and hence they had to attend the meeting. The high priests said they would make their stand clear on the unique custom and practice of disallowing menstruating women to enter the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple at the meeting, they said.