Even as Sabarimala continues to be on the boil over the Supreme Court verdict granting unrestricted entry to women into the temple, the stance adopted by key players, the Congress, the BJP and the CPI(M), presents an interesting scenario.
The Left Democratic Front constituents, mainly the CPI(M) and the CPI, continue to stand pat on their stated position that the State government is constitutionally obliged to honour the verdict and provide protection to all believers arriving for a darshan. The Congress and the BJP may have dithered initially but have shifted their position subsequently by declaring solidarity with the faithful, obviously sensing the political setback they would have suffered otherwise. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that manages the temple too has reneged from its tough position and offered to go an extra mile to end the impasse.
The Congress and the BJP have had a difficult time articulating their views after their national leaderships had hailed the verdict as progressive and one that ensures gender equality. Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and BJP State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai were at a loss explaining the apparent contradiction in the stance adopted nationally while the State units aligned with the believers. In due course, the latter managed to win the grudging endorsement of their national leaders.
CPI(M) stance
CPI(M) State committee member Anathalavattom Anandan recalls how successive State governments led by the LDF had implemented the High Court verdict banning women’s entry to the temple. “At present we are bound to implement the Supreme Court verdict in letter and spirit. If the court issues a fresh order on the basis of about 25 review petitions pending before it, we will abide by it. This is not a war between theists and atheists. The CPI(M) is not for a class war, but is committed to building and strengthening a democratic people’s front comprising believers and non-believers,” he says.
Cong focus
Congress publicity cell convener K. Muraleedharan says the party stands by the affidavit the State government filed in 2016 seeking to stick to the rituals of the temple. But he admits that the national leadership’s direction to Congress activists to join the protests without party flag would prove costly.
“We are aware of this reality. Hence, the focus of our agitation would be on the demand to promulgate an ordinance while supporting the demand of the faithful to protect the rituals of the temple,” he says.
BJP State spokesperson M.S. Kumar admits that there was initial dithering on the party stance, especially in the wake of RSS general secretary Suresh Joshi welcoming the verdict. “That might be due to a minor lapse in comprehending the traditions of the temple. Now the national leaders of the RSS and the BJP reiterate the need to protect the temple’s tradition. The State government can now seek opinion from eminent jurists to settle the issue,” he says. Mr. Pillai even offered Central intervention if the State government officially sought it through a resolution passed by a special session of the Assembly.
But who will ultimately benefit from the no-holds-barred campaign to gain political mileage from the issue is something that exercises the minds of leaders and observers alike.
