The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) will move the Supreme Court on Monday seeking more time for implementing the court's order allowing entry of women in menstrual age group into the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala.
Earlier, it was expected that the TDB, which manages the hill shrine, would approach the apex court on Saturday. However, TDB President A. Padmakumar said on Saturday that it would submit the petition in the Supreme Court on Monday, after consulting Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The TDB has decided to seek more time from the Supreme Court citing lack of sufficient facilities at Pamba, badly affected in the August floods that rampaged Kerala. Pamba is a key base-station for pilgrims arriving at Sabarimala. The TDB will submit that it will difficult to provide amenities and enure security in case more pilgrims arrive at the hillshrine in the backdrop of the Supreme Court verdict.
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The Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala has led to massive protests and counter-protests across Kerala. CM Vijayan's decision to implement the Sabarimala verdict has invited criticism from Ayyappa devotees and opposition parties, including the Congress and the BJP. The BJP, which has hardly gained any foothold in Kerala, is cashing on the Sabarimala issue to spread its influence and win more followers in the state.
Meanwhile, Hindu outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kerala on Saturday to protest the arrest of its state president K.P. Sasikala near Sabarimala on Saturday. The BJP has backed the hartal.
With the annual pilgrim season to Sabarimala began on Friday, all eyes are the on the Kerala government's strategy to implement the Supreme Court order.
Kerala, on Friday, witnessed unprecedented scenes as gender rights activist Trupti Desai, who had vowed to visit Sabarimala, was holed up at the Cochin International Airport after Ayyappa devotees and activists prevented her from leaving the airport on the way to the hilltop shrine.
