No woman will be stopped from visiting Sabarimala temple, says Pinarayi Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram: The state government will make necessary arrangements for the visit of all women devotees to Sabarimala temple notwithstanding the protests being raised by some organisations against it, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Wednesday.
“It is the responsibility of the state government to implement the Supreme Court order in this regard,” he said after the cabinet meeting.
“The festival season is approaching and following the apex court verdict, women are expected to visit the temple. In such a situation, the government will have to put in place the required arrangements at the hill shrine,” he said.
Saying that the Sabarimala issue was a serious matter, he pointed out that there were two opinions among the devotees from the very beginning. One section was against the entry of women belonging to a particular age group and another group was in favour of it. These issues were examined by the Supreme Court in detail and its position was explained in the final verdict.
Till now, mainly men used to visit the temple and most arrangements were made for them. Now the government will have to make arrangements, including toilets, bathrooms , resting enclosures, additional drinking water facilities and elaborate security, for women pilgrims.
When asked about the threats being issued by certain Hindu outfits to physically prevent women from entering the temple, Mr Vijayan said once the Supreme Court court gave its verdict, it had become the law of the land till the time a new one is framed. “It is now the law of our country. Therefore, as a responsible government it is our duty to make the required arrangements. Moreover, all devotees do not share the opinion that only women of a particular age group should be permitted at Sabarimala.
A large number believe that it is their right to visit the temple and have darshan,” he said. “Respected T.K. A. Nair, former secretary to the prime minister said this publicly. Even sanyasis are airing similar opinions. Therefore, it is only a matter of discussion,” he said.
The government’s main task was to provide facilities and security arrangements for the women devotees, he said. When asked about the protests against the verdict and demand for a review, he said the Supreme Court had heard all sides on the matter and given a detailed judgment on why it allowed the entry of all women in the temple. “The judges also cited several reasons for coming to such a conclusion. These are facts before the country,” he said.
Pinarayi slams TDB president
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday flayed Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar for taking a divergent stand on the entry of women devotees in Sabarimala temple. Chief minister said the devaswom board president had made statements on different occasions on the issue. But they were only his personal views and applicable only to him, he said.
His reaction came moments before the Board decided not to file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala.
“I had called the board members for a meeting here the other day to discuss the steps to be taken in view of the verdict. The meeting decided to take a series of measures,” he said. But after emerging from the meeting, the Board president remarked that no women members from his family would go to Sabarimala this time. “When he makes such a statement, the media could get a wrong impression that his stand was part of the discussions. That is why I have explained the matter,” he said. Mr Vijayan said the position taken by Mr Padmakumar on such issues was not right.
