I'm not against devotees, says T N Seema

Thiruvananthapuram: Former MP T N Seema on Monday flayed the attempts being made to create a wedge between the CPM and believers at the behest of communal forces. The CPM leader said she was targeted for criticising Devaswom Board President Prayar Gopalakrishnan’s views that appeared in a daily. In that article, Gopalakrishnan had slighted the self control of Ayyappa devotees. The former MP said some of the excerpts of her speech made in Thiruvananthapuram on the issue of entry of women in Sabarimala, were selectively taken out of context to target her. 

“This was done to deliberately portray me as anti-Ayyappa devotees,” she added.
“I don’t have any complaints regarding the physical and mental control of Ayyappa devotees. I don’t subscribe to the argument that this was one of the hurdles for entry of women in Sabarimala. But the devaswom board  president has such a view,” the CPM leader said. She said those who remained silent on Devaswom board president’s views were now targeting her.

Seema said there was a concerted attempt to brand the LDF government and communists as enemies of believers. The campaign being carried out by communal forces will not find any takers. The former MP said they were fighting for the rights guaranteed for women by Constitution. “I welcomed the entry of women in famous Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai. These customs were created by people at some point. But these have to be changed according to present times,” she added.

The CPM leader said a post suggesting that she was going to visit Sabarimala was doing the rounds in social media. “As per the existing custom I belong to the age group which is permitted to enter the temple. But let me inform them that I am not intending to enter the temple,” she added.