The Centre should frame a law on restricted entry of women in Sabarimala and should not take the faithful to the street, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has said.
Mr. Surendran told reporters here on Friday that he welcomed the private Bill moved by N.K. Premachandran on the issue in the Lok Sabha and said a legal protection was imperative for securing the custom and tradition of Sabarimala.
The State government had many times demanded that the Centre pilot legislation, but everyone was aware of the fate of Mr. Premachandran’s Bill. He might be attempting to prove that he had performed his role on the issue. It should be seen more seriously, Mr. Surendran said. Though a clutch of review petitions were pending in the Supreme Court, there were no legal hassles in piloting a Bill. The State government could act only as dictated by the rule of law and the Constitution. If the Centre foresaw any delay in moving the Bill, it should promulgate an ordinance. The Centre knows that the State government did not have the power to frame legislation in this matter, he said.
