Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said Sabarimala was not an issue now. The Supreme Court (SC) was reviewing the matter. Once the apex court reached a decision, the government would take a stance. It would calibrate its position after “discussing with everybody”.
The rituals and worship at Sabarimala was progressing smoothly. The Congress had sought to politicise the issue with an eye on the elections. Its gambit had failed in the local body polls. But, the Congress rarely learned from past mistakes. The party was prone to repeating them.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had criticised the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) as a mainstream political party. The Congress had wrongly attempted to portray a fair assessment of the IUML’s political positions as communal.
The IUML was trying to build bridges with the Jamaat-e-Islami, a fundamentalist outfit. The Congress had attempted the same in the local body polls, causing further divisions in the party.
In contrast, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had remained firmly moored to secular and constitutional values. It had sought votes on the merit of its governance and developmental achievements.
‘Not perturbed’
Mr. Vijayan said Congress working president G. Sudhakaran’s “disparaging” comments about his roots in the toddy-tapping community had not perturbed him in the least.
“I am proud my father is a toddy tapper. I hail from a family of farmers. My elder brother harvested toddy for a living. Another brother switched from toddy-tapping to baking. I have never felt ashamed of my working-class roots,” he said.
