Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was trying to create a divide between upper castes and lower castes in Kerala with his undue haste in implementing the Supreme Court order permitting entry of women of all age groups to Sabarimala, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said.
Mr. Chennithala was inaugurating an evening dharna organised by the District Congress Committee here on Sunday.
Mr. Chennithala demanded that a criminal case be registered against the Chief Minister for his attempts to create a communal divide and divisions in society.
He said Mr. Vijayan and the CPI(M) should not forget the fact that it was the Congress that had spearheaded various social reformation movements such as the Vaikom satyagraha and Guruvayur satyagraha.
He called upon the Union and State governments to bring in an appropriate ordinance to protect the age-old custom and practices at Sabarimala.
Babu George, DCC president, presided over the function. P.J. Kurien, former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman; Shanimol Usman, Congress political affairs committee member, and Lathika Subhash, Mahila Congress State president, spoke.
Chandy flays CPI(M), BJP
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has accused the CPI(M) and BJP of playing “dirty vote bank politics” in the name of Sabarimala
Mr. Chandy was speaking after inaugurating a meeting of booth-level leaders of the Congress here on Sunday.
He said Sabarimala was a proud sentiment of Kerala and the CPI(M) and the BJP were playing mean politics over the custom and practices at the Ayyappa Temple there.
Mr. Chandy blamed the LDF government for the present state of chaos over the Supreme Court verdict on women’s entry issue to Sabarimala.
The affidavit submitted by the previous UDF government before the Supreme Court had stressed the importance of following the existing custom and practices at Sabarimala.
However, the LDF government had made certain corrections in it, favouring entry for all women to Sabarimala, leading to the present controversy, he said.
Mr. Chandy alleged that the statement of Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sabarimala was misrepresented by the media. Mr. Gandhi had stated much earlier that the All-India Congress Committee was with the party State unit on the Sabarimala issue.
P.J. Kurien, former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman; Anto Antony, MP; K. Sivadasan Nair, P. Mohanraj, former DCC presidents; Pandalam Sudhakaran, UDF district convener; Malethu Saraladevi, former MLA; K.K. Royson, Vettoor Jyotiprasad, and Anil Thomas, DCC office-bearers, spoke.