THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar may be on his way out following the controversy over the U-turn taken by the board on the Sabarimala issue in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
A tussle has also broken out between Mr Padmakumar and devaswom commissioner N. Vasu, who was sent to New Delhi in connection with the case.
Mr Padmakumar said at Pathanamthitta on Thursday that the board had actually submitted a plea seeking extension of time to implement the verdict passed by the apex court on September 28 allowing women of reproductive age to enter the temple.
However, Mr Rakesh Dwivedi, the lawyer who represented TDB in the Supreme Court during the hearing on the review petitions, told Indu Malhotra, one of the judges of the Constitution bench, that the TDB had changed its earlier stand supporting the ban on the entry of young women in Sabarimala. “Yes, we have changed our view. An application was filed to that effect,” he said.
The TDB had joined the LDF government to oppose dozens of pleas seeking a review of the Supreme Court verdict on September 28. It is said that Mr Padmakumar was not taken into confidence on the stand to be taken in the SC on Wednesday.
"Vasu is aware of what transpired in the SC. I have sought an explanation from him," said Mr Padmakumar.
Mr Vasu who returned from New Delhi on Thursday told reporters that the TDB had not taken any decision without the knowledge of its president. The TDB had already made it clear that it was bound to abide by the SC verdict and that this was repeated in the apex court on Wednesday also. He also denied that Mr Padmakumar had sought any explanation from him on the change in stand. “Lawyer Rakesh Dwivedi did not take a stand contrary to the board’s wishes,” he said.
He will meet Mr Padmakumar to apprise him of the developments in the SC. He also visited CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at AKG centre. The CPM state leadership is unhappy with the U-turn taken by the TDB.
It is learnt that there is pressure on Mr Padmakumar to quit and that former devaswom recruitment board chairman M. Rajagopalan Nair may succeed him. But with the Lok Sabha elections approaching, the LDF government may go slow on the matter. Devaswom Minister Kadakamapally Surendran maintained that Mr Padmakumar will not be shunted out.
