The opposition Congress and BJP in Kerala are expected to lay down a single, but tough, condition for the Pinarayi Vijayan government at the all-party meeting on the Sabarimala issue scheduled for Thursday—prohibit the entry of women to the Ayyappa temple at any cost.
If the Vijayan government says it will implement the Supreme Court order allowing the entry of women, there is a chance that the hill shrine will have to be shut down for the entire duration of the 'Mandalam' pilgrimage season.
The Kerala government has intelligence information that groups linked to the RSS would prevent the entry of women to the Sabarimala shrine at any cost this season. It is believed these groups will use clauses in ancient texts like Thanthra Samuchayam to force the closure. History has a precedent. The Guruvayur temple was closed for 31 days after dalits entered the place of worship following the Guruvayur Satyagraha in 1932.
Both the Congress and the BJP, sources said, will ask the government to file a clarification petition in the Supreme Court to buy time, an option Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan might choose. Given the charged atmosphere, it now looks like the Vijayan government will have to do something, quickly, to tide over the crisis.
Senior government sources said the state could cite 'unpreparedness', especially in the wake of the recent floods, as a genuine alibi to postpone the implementation of the Sabarimala verdict. “It is true that infrastructure in general is woefully inadequate, leave alone that of women. This is especially so after the floods. Now, the High Court has also asked the Devaswom Board to dismantle the toilet block for women at Pamba, one of the only three in the area,” a senior official said.
The Supreme Court, too, is aware of the situation. The central empowered committee appointed by the
Supreme Court had recently visited Sabarimala and had submitted a report. The committee found serious drawbacks in various aspects like sewage management. It described the situation as both “pathetic and dangerous”. However, top aides in the Chief Minister's Office are tight-lipped about the government's strategy.
“The chief minister would like to hear what others have to say,” an aide said.
Though the Congress was quick to accept Pinarayi Vijayan's invite, the decision to attend the all-party meeting on Sabarimala was not unanimous. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran was vehemently opposed to taking part in the all-party meeting. His argument was Pinarayi Vijayan had called for talks because his stand on Sabarimala has weakened him politically.
“Vijayan will use the all-party meet to revive his stock,” the KPCC president is said to have argued. Mullappally also said the Congress had earlier asked Vijayan to convene such a meeting and that he had wilfully ignored it. However, UDF allies like the Muslim League said the UDF should highlight its stand. The assessment of the UDF leaders was that the Congress's non-violent stand was gradually gaining acceptance among the devotees.
There was also the need to gradually wrest control from the BJP of the narrative on Sabarimala, the Congress felt.
The BJP, however, hesitated for a long time before accepting the chief minister's invite. An influential section in the RSS wanted the BJP to boycott the meet. Their argument was that the CPI(M) had already planned to allow some women to enter Sabarimala and therefore it was futile to attend the meeting.
But, after a series of talks held by BJP state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai with an array of senior leaders, it was decided to take part in the meet. “I will announce the decision later,” Pillai said when onmanorama contacted him.
However, sources said the BJP would demand that the Vijayan government should expressly discourage women from making plans to visit Sabarimala by stating publicly that it was in no haste to implement the Supreme Court verdict. “Besides, it should file a clarification petition in the Supreme Court to freeze the implementation of the earlier order,” sources said.
Whether Pinarayi Vijayan would heed the opposition's diktats on Sabarimala is anybody's guess.
-Via onmanorama
