Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday if the Sabarimala tantri was unhappy with the Supreme Court verdict the best course open to him was to leave the place. The chief minister said the tantri's move to shut down the temple for an hour and conduct purification rituals after two women, in their 40s, offered prayers was a violation of the Supreme Court verdict. He termed the move 'strange'.
“The tantri family was also party to the case. The family's side was also heard before the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict,” the chief minister said. “Of course, the tantri has the democratic right to oppose the verdict. But if he still holds the position of 'tantri', he is duty bound to implement the verdict. He cannot remain as tantri and say that he will not obey the Supreme Court order. What he should instead be doing is quit the place saying that the apex court verdict will not allow him to carry on his duties,” the chief minister said here on Thursday.
Further, he said, whether to shut down the temple or not was the prerogative of Travancore Devaswom Board. “I have been told that the tantri had not spoken to the board before the temple was closed (for purification rituals),” the chief minister said. “So what the tantri did was not just a violation of the Supreme Court order but also a mockery of Devaswom rules,” he added.
Open mission, no secrets
Pinarayi refuted the charge that the entry of the two women – Bindu and Kanakadurga – into Sabarimala was a secret operation planned by the government. “We do nothing in secret. And we are not intent on taking women to Sabarimala,” he said. The chief minister said that he was not even aware of the names of the women who had entered. “I knew their names only when their entry became big news. Earlier, I was only told that two women had entered,” he said.
The women who had darshan at Sabarimala had attempted to enter the shrine before. “When they could not accomplish it, they turned back. Later they approached the police and sought protection for another visit to Sabarimala. The police, who are duty bound to implement the verdict, gave them protection,” he said.
The chief minister said the protection of women wanting to enter Sabarimala was non-negotiable. “The government would give protection to women who came forward seeking Ayyappa darshan. We will not budge an inch from this stated position,” he said. “Don't consider this as lack of respect for faith. We were just paying obeisance to constitutional values,” he added.
'Sangh Parivar conspiracy'
The chief minister said the violence following the entry of the women was a planned conspiracy. “They did not come down in a helicopter. They took the same path that other devotees took. They were given no special considerations either,” he said. The chief minister said it was usual for devotees to help each other. “It were the other devotees themselves who made the necessary arrangements for these women devotees. There was no protest from any of the devotee present there. This is evident from the words of the two women,” Pinarayi said.
He said violence began much later. “The women made their darshan, and came out. There was no violence or anger of any kind at the temple. It was only after some time that those outside Sabarimala came to know of the women's entry. Nothing happened even hours after the news came out. This shows that no natural anger swelled up in the state or among Ayyappa devotees,” he said.
“But those hell-bent on violence could not remain silent. When those waiting to exploit the situation politically found that nothing was happening, directions to incite violence were sent out. What we saw next was violence unleashed on the streets by Sangh Parivar miscreants. This was the result of a planned conspiracy,” the chief minister said.
'Hartal mockery of apex court'
He also said the hartal, the fifth statewide hartal in the state in three months, was a challenge thrown at the Supreme Court. “The entry of women is the realisation of a principle the Supreme Court has established. To declare a hartal against women's entry is a mockery of the Supreme Court,” the chief minister said.
He said that 79 KSRTC buses, seven police vehicles and 31 policemen were injured in the latest bout of violence. “Most of of the targets were women,” Pinarayi said.
'Chandran died of heart attack'
He also sought to play down the death of Chandran Unnithan who died at Pandalam during a protest march. “He died after a heart attack in the hospital. I don't think it was related to stone pelting,” the chief minister said. Earlier, the police had stated that Chandran was badly injured in stone pelting from atop the CPM office at Pandalam.
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