THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Sabarimala shrine set to be opened for the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season on November 16, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said in the assembly that the government stand is that the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all age groups to enter the temple should be implemented.
Stating that the decision on entering the Sabarimala temple or not rests with the woman devotees, the state government does not have a stand that it should facilitate, on its own, the entry of any woman into the temple. This was the government’s stand last year also.
Asked about the possibility of bringing in a legislation to overcome the Supreme Court verdict, the chief minister repudiated it and said as the judgment itself is connected with the fundamental rights and constitutional morality, such a move will set a wrong precedent.
“A majority in the society are believers. And the government is obliged to protect their beliefs. But it is also obligated to guard those believers who face attacks from another section in the name of faith,” Pinarayi said during the Question Hour in the assembly.
Earlier, the chief minister alleged that Congress and BJP had tried to mislead the believers to trigger unrest in the society through false campaigns.
The departments concerned have taken appropriate measures to avoid any untoward incidents this time.
“Once the verdict was out, the BJP-led government at the Centre directed the state to implement it and extended all possible support including the deployment of central forces in case of any violence. Also, the Central government had made it clear that legislation is not possible to overcome the verdict,” added Vijayan.
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Answering a question on the stand taken by the former governor on women’s entry, the chief minister said Justice P Sathasivam had expressed satisfaction over the measures taken by the government to implement the order then.
The then governor had said it was the government’s responsibility to implement the order and he appreciated the efforts by saying that the government had initiated actions which any government had to take to implement the court order,” said Vijayan.
Meanwhile, the chief minister said though the apex court had come out with the landmark judgment, it further restrained itself from taking any further stand on the issue.