Sabarimala: BJP, Hindutva outfits at their devious best!

While Rahul Gandhi went shamelessly missing, his men in Kerala were backing the Hindutva agenda.

Having adopted an approach of silence, quite conveniently the past five days, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan now comes out with a statement saying there is no going back on Sabarimala issue; Supreme Court order will be implemented.

The shrine which was opened for monthly pooja on October 17 has been closed tonight. Let alone that no women in the age group of 10 to 50 were able to offer worship at the shrine the government's stance on the issue has been that of despair the last two days.

That despair was very much evident when Kerala Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran on Monday acknowledged the government is caught between the devil and the deep sea, thereby summing up the predicament the LDF government finds itself on Sabarimala issue. He added that on the one hand, the government has the liability to implement Supreme Court order allowing menstruating women to offer worship at Sabarimala shrine on the other is the arm-twisting resorted to by BJP.

While Rahul Gandhi went shamelessly missing, his men in Kerala backed the Hindutva agenda. The saffron party meanwhile, as usual in such matters, was at its devious best. The Hindutva goons resisted entry of young women, despite being escorted by police, into the shrine while Sangh Parivar outfits stepped up their onslaught.

VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal declared Sabarimala as South India's Ayodhya, while RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during his Vijayadashami address chose to emphasize that the situation arising out of the recent verdict on Sabarimala temple shows the nature and premise of the tradition that has been accepted by society and continuously followed for years together were not taken into consideration. He added the version of heads of religious denominations and faith of crores of devotees was not taken into account. And the legal verdict has given rise to unrest, turmoil and divisiveness in the society in place of peace, stability and equality. While all these were taking place, the Internal Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs wrote to Kerala chief secretary to ensure tight security in the pilgrim centre. The letter exhorted the state government to be on alert and put in place all precautionary measures in the light of the tense situation prevailing there. What next they have in mind time will unveil.

(The shrine will next open for Mandala pooja Maholsavam on November 15).