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Renaissance committee to soften Sabari campaign

The committee will also be forced to tone down its campaign favouring entry of young women in Sabarimala in the wake of change in CPM\'s position.

Thiruvananthapuram: With CPM deciding to go soft on Sabarimala, it will be a tough call for Renaissance Values Protection Committee to carry on with its campaign in the coming days.

The committee will also be forced to tone down its campaign favouring entry of young women in Sabarimala in the wake of change in CPM's position. However, the committee will focus on customs and rituals that are being misused by vested interests to create caste and communal polarisation in the state. It will also run a campaign to expose the attempts being made by extremist and fundamentalist Hindu outfits and Muslim outfits to take control of religious places.

Renaissance committee's focus now will be on strengthening state's secular fabric and communal harmony. Besides, it will campaign on plurality. The panel is unlikely to campaign aggressively against caste and communal organisations which are opposed to changes in age old customs. The idea is not to provoke religious groups and caste groups.

The committee had serious apprehensions about its existence after LDF's electoral rout in Lok Sabha polls. However, the chief minister convened a meeting in July allying apprehensions regarding the future activities of the committee.

Though the CPM has decided to tone down its stand on Sabarimala issue and entry of young women in temple, the committee believes that the slight change in ruling party's position is keeping in view the forthcoming by-elections to six assembly constituencies which are expected to be held sometime in September or October. While the committee endorses the CPM assessment that a section of believers had voted against the LDF in protest against Sabarimala stand, it does not think temple issue was the main reason for the electoral debacle.

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