Kerala govt may not follow CPI(M) line on Sabarimala issue, says party leader

WIth a nine-member bench of the sublime margaret court scheduled to start audience petitions for and against the critique of the 2018 top court verdict allowing women of all ages entry at the Sabarimala temple on April 7, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala is expected to spell out its stand on the highly intricate subject ahead of the assembly elections.In the aftermath of the 2018 landmark order of the Supreme Court permitting women, even of menstruating age, to enter the hill shrine, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s attempts to implement the verdict had resulted in widespread clashes between the faithful and the police, statewide protests, and dozens of cases being filed against agitators. A year later, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF was routed, winning just one out of the 20 parliamentary seats -- attributed to the resentment largely among Hindus against the Left government.Reacting to the recent developments, Kerala Law Minister and senior CPI(M) leader P Rajeev said the seven fundamental questions framed by the Supreme Court regarding the Sabarimala issue cannot be answered by simple, objective yes or no responses.“The government stands to protect the faith of devotees. But there is enough time (for us) to clear our stand in the Supreme Court. It is a complex constitutional issue and cannot be answered in yes or no,” he said.However, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan indicated that the party and the government need not share the same stand on the Sabarimala question. “The government need not always toe the party or ideological line taken by CPI(M) or LDF on governance issues,” he said.At the same time, prominent community organisations like the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam exhorted the State to take the correct decision in favour of the faithful.“In the years following the verdict, the LDF government has taken steps for the protection of temple customs at Sabarimala. Therefore, the NSS does not perceive that the government will reverse that stand when the Supreme Court takes up the petitions in April,” NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair told reporters.SNDP General secretary Vellappally Natesan expressed confidence that the LDF government would stand for protection of temple customs. “The 2018 verdict was disappointing. Traditionally, the entry of women of all ages at the temple has not happened for years and implementing it now is not right,” he said.