Thiruvananthapuram: The government has convened an all- party meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to take up the review and writ petitions against the earlier Sabarimala verdict on January 22.
The meeting will be held at 11 am in the chamber of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to keep the deliberations completely confidential. Usually the all-party meetings are held in the chief minister’s conference hall.
The government is planning to evolve a broad consensus on keeping the Mandala- Makaravilakku season incident-free. Since the Supreme Court verdict has not stayed the order of September 28 allowing the entry of young women in the temple, the government anticipates trouble from the Sangh Parivar outfits.
With the BJP and the Congress already announcing that they would go ahead with their protest programmes, the government will have to tread cautiously as over 500 women have registered for pilgrimage.
The stakes are high for the Sangh Parivar outfits which are opposing the entry of young women at Sabarimala.
The chief minister’s remark about seeking legal opinion on Tuesday’s verdict hints at government’s willingness to tone down its previous stand. The LDF sources said that the priority would be on ensuring peace at Sabarimala by seeking a clear assurance from all stakeholders.
Many believe the government will try to avoid provocation by dissuading young women, who might come for darshan, to return and by refusing to provide them security.
The chief minister is likely to hold discussions with the tantri family and erstwhile family members of Pandalam royal family after the all-party meeting on Thursday.
