The Kerala government's attempt to find an amicable solution to the raging row in the State over the Supreme Court verdict permitting women of all ages to offer worship at the Sabarimala temple has suffered a setback.
The Tantri (chief priest) family, which guides the customs and rituals at the Ayyappa temple, and the Pandalam palace that is closely linked to the legend of the Sabarimala deity, have rejected Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's attempts to reach out to them.
Representatives of the Tantri family and the Pandalam palace were scheduled to meet the Chief Minister on Monday. However, they have decided not to travel to the State capital for the meeting till the government goes in for a review petition.
Protests erupt
The decision of the two key actors in the row came even as protests against the verdict gathered steam across the State and appeared to spill over into neighbouring Tamil Nadu and reached the national capital.
Hindu organisations took out ‘prayer processions’ — with the large turnout of women — in different parts of the State on Sunday.
In Thiruvananthapuram, BJP activists took a march to Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran’s office in his constituency, resulting in some tension there. At Erumeli, one of the entry points to the Sabarimala area, a group of protesters rallied under the banner of Sabarimala Protection Council and put new locks on the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) office. The Council also launched an indefinite sit-in at Nilackal, another entry point to Sabarimala.
In New Delhi, State Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan’s car was blocked by protesters in front of Kerala House. Protests were held in Chennai also.
Palace blames govt.
While members of the Tantri family cited their commitments as part of their priestly duties for their inability to participate in the talks, Pandalam palace managing committee chairman P. Ramavarma Raja and president P.G. Sasikumar Varma said the CPI(M) and the government were to blame for the situation. They said they saw no point in attending the talks given the stand of the party and the government against a review petition.
“While everyone agrees that government is duty-bound to implement the court order, there are provisions for approaching the court with a review petition, an appeal to a seven-judge bench or at least a request for sufficient time to implement the verdict,” they told The Hindu at Pathanamthitta.
Government sources told The Hindu here that it could do little in the matter as it could not go in appeal against a verdict that endorsed its stand.
“How can the government go against the Supreme Court order, especially when the court has endorsed its stand? We are for an amicable solution, but will now have to see how best that can achieved,” the sources said.
