THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: J Nandakumar, member of the RSS’ top brass and Sangh think tank ‘Prajnapravah’s national convener’, said there is an international conspiracy to destroy Sabarimala and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has wittingly or unwittingly fallen prey to it. He was speaking to Express.
Nandakumar, who is one of the RSS’ key policymakers at the all-India level, further said the state government is behaving like a foreign force by unleashing the police force on believers and devotees staging peaceful protests against the entry of women in the 10-50 age group.
He said the Chief Minister has addressed numerous programmes across the state against the beliefs, customs and traditions in Sabarimala while his party is silent on the same. Nandakumar said, “There is a direct internal fight taking place within the CPM as the party secretary is not seen anywhere nor speaking forcefully on the issue.”
On whether the RSS is opposed to the entry of women in the 10-5o age group into Sabarimala, Nandakumar said,” The believers and devotees will never allow the violation of customs and traditions of the hill shrine”.
The RSS leader said the CPM and the LDF Government are trying to create a fear psychosis in the state by slapping criminal charges on devotees who had staged peaceful agitations. He said,” The CPM is a political party which promotes atheism and they are trying to destroy the Sabarimala temple as it is the fountain of religious belief in South India”. Nandakumar, who hails from Pandalam, said the Sabarimala issue has now assumed national prominence and a series of programmes will be held at several centres across the country to create awareness on the protection of the rights of believers and devotees of Sabarimala.
The RSS leader said the state government has not even filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the apex court verdict granting entry to women of all ages. “This shows how callous the state government is on a major issue concerning several million devotees. There is nothing wrong in the government filing a review petition before the Supreme Court. The TDB had earlier said it will file a review petition but it has changed tits stand and is now saying the board will give its opinion if sought by the Supreme Court,” Nandakumar said.