Women devotees used virtual queue: Minister

List of 51 women prepared by Police Department

Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has contended that the list of 51 women devotees in the 10-50 age group who used the virtual queue system for darshan has been prepared by the Police Department.

“Why should we [the Devaswom Department] check anyone's age,” he asked.

In a telephone conversation with

The Hindu , he said the Supreme Court order on Friday “upheld the rule of law” and that the government was now duty-bound to provide protection to Bindu and Kanakadurga. “It clearly shows that the government has not erred in the way it handled the first season at Sabarimala ever since the apex court ruled allowing entry for women of all age groups to the temple.”

Mr. Surendran, however, took strong exception to the way of functioning of the Kerala High Court-appointed monitoring committee at Sabarimala.

“The committee doesn't seem to have understood the essence of the Supreme Court's order that upheld the constitutional right of women to worship at the temple. In a way, it seemed to play into the hands of the [Vishwa Hindu Parishad-led] Sabarimala Karma Samithi which violently opposed women who sought darshan at the temple. The committee was more interested in finding out how women entered the temple and which routes were taken by them. It goes against the spirit of the apex court ruling,” the Minister said.