‘We are not against SC, we are against CPM govt in Kerala’

We are not against the Supreme Court. We are against the CPM government in Kerala… We are seeking our constitutional right. We know why CPM is in a hurry to implement the apex court order. The communists see temples as mere properties to be managed. They only want to grab the temples. We only want them to show respect to our tradition,” Rao said.

Thousands of party workers, including a large number of women, many of them clad in black attire associated with the Sabarimala pilgrimage, gathered outside the secretariat demanding that the government take devotees’ sentiments too into account and file a review petition in the apex court.

The state government has repeatedly declared that it will implement the Supreme Court verdict in letter and spirit, though, over the last few days, following growing protests, the government has tried to engage with major Sabarimala stakeholders like the thantri family and the erstwhile Pandalalm royal family.

The Travancore Devaswom Board has invited representatives of these families on Tuesday morning for a final push towards finding common ground on the contentious issue.

Several NDA leaders, including actor-turned-MP Suresh Gopi, Nalin Kumar Kateel, BDJS chief and Rajya Sabha MP Thushar Vellappally and state BJP president P S Sreedharan Pillai, participated in the march.

“We will meet each and every villager in Kerala and chalk out a massive agitation plan to protect Sabarimala temple, its centuries-old traditions and the sentiments of Lord Ayyappa devotees,” Pillai said. He said if the government failed to resolve the issue “in the next 24 hours”, the NDA will formulate an elaborate protest plan to “reach our goal”.

“Ayyappa devotees, not only in Kerala but across the country, are disturbed by the recent developments. The state government is responsible for the crisis,” Rao said.

Kerala minister E P Jayarajan, a confidant of Vijayan, said on Monday the government did not want any confrontation with Ayyappa devotees but was also duty-bound to implement the Supreme Court order.

“Congress and Sangh Parivar are deliberately trying to trigger violence under the cover of the Supreme Court verdict on the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple,” he said.