The Sabarimala verdict has implications for temples across the country as the argument of constitutional morality can be stretched to target unique worship systems followed at each temple, a senior RSS functionary said on Saturday.
Speaking at an event called ‘Citizens Meet to Save Sabarimala Traditions’ here, J Nandakumar, who heads the Sangh’s intellectual wing ‘Prajna Pravah’ said that “if this finding is going to be stretched beyond limit, it is going to affect” other temples and their practises as well.
Nandakumar also alleged that a “conspiracy” was behind what he claimed was the “continued targeting” of the forest shrine. “There are plans to build an airport on route to Sabarimala and it will be profitable only if the shrine is kept open 365 days a year. So, there is an attempt to convert it from a pilgrimage spot to a mere tourism spot,” he said, adding that people behind the “plot” will be revealed eventually.
The Sabarimala temple opens only during the annual pilgrimage season, for some festive occasions and for a couple of days at the beginning of every Malayalam month.
Nandakumar said the dissenting verdict by Justice Indu Malhotra had raised some important questions. He said he is hopeful of a positive outcome when the Supreme Court takes up petitions seeking review of its 4-1 majority verdict, when it lifted age restrictions on entry of women to the temple.
He also condemned Kerala Police’s “brutality” on “devotees who were fighting to save their tradition”. The RSS functionary claimed that five people had already died since the start of protests and false charges have been slapped on more than 10,000 others.
Meanwhile, the All India Sabarimala Action Council, which is the coordinating body for Sabarimala protests, announced that it will hold an ‘Indraprastha Ayyappa Jyoyhi’ in the national capital on January 21.
