“Addressing the media, the Kerela CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the government will put constitutional rights in pedestal upon faith and religion.”
The all-party meeting organized by the Kerela Government, to discuss the issue of the Sabarimala on Thursday, fell through as the CM Pinarayi Vijayan made it clear that the government will carry forward the higher court verdict of allowing women of all ages in the temple. ‘We will not dilute the SC verdict in any way, the court has made it clear that the individuals’ beliefs are not more than the constitutional right of an individual. We are a democratic state with the rule of law in place’ said CM Vijayan in a press conference held after an all-party meeting in Kerela Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. ‘Government has no option but to follow the SC verdict’ added him. The CM has also said to discussion with other stakeholders in order to implement allow entry of women in the temple.
He further suggested allotting specific days and dates for women to enter the shrine. ‘In the meanwhile devotees who want to go can go ahead with their plans. We are looking to make a settlement with all stakeholders. By settlement, I don’t mean blocking women. There are specific days in which women are allowed, so we can discuss if that is possible,” he added.
Responding to the accusation of Ramesh Chennithala of dealing the issue with an ulterior motive, the CM said the government would do what the Supreme Court has ordered.
The Supreme Court said that there is no stay on the September 28 verdict, which allowed women into Sabarimala; this means that women of all ages have the right to come. So we cannot restrict this. Tomorrow, if they change this, we will go by their orders, even if we differ in our opinion,” he said. The CM has also appealed to main peace and tranquility at the temple.
On the other hand, Supreme court on Tuesday said it would hear the 49 review petitions filed against the entry of women in Sabarimala verdict on January 22, next year. However, the bench made it clear that there is no stay on the September 28th verdict, that allows the entry of women of all ages in the temple.
BJP attacks CM Vijayan
While the Opposition Leader, Ramesh Chennithala and BJP’s state President Shridharan Pillai shares dissatisfaction after an all-party meet, and said the government should halt the entry of women till the review petition is heard. Ramesh Chennithala said, “We had put forward two propositions to the government – to seek more time until the review petitions are heard and not to implement the verdict until then. The government, however, rejected our suggestions in all-party meet.
The government is standing firm in its stance and is not ready to no compromise. It was a good opportunity to restore peace at Sabarimala. We thought he will change his stance at the meeting. But since the government has not considered our suggestions, we staged a walkout.”
Interestingly, the CM Vijayan, at the press conference after the all-party meeting said, “Soon after the discussions, I told the members that the meeting was over. Ramesh Chennithala, however, approached me and said that he and his party were staging a walkout.”