SABARIMALA: Pandalam Kottaram Nirvahana Samithi president Sasikumara Varma and secretary Narayana Varma said: “We’ve told Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley and other senior leaders about the need to protect the age-old customs of the temple. It’s for the thantri to take a final call on the rituals. The authorities have to consult the thantri and all spiritual leaders before taking a decision on changing the rituals. The state government had submitted before the Supreme Court that a commission should be deputed to seek the opinion of spiritual leaders before deciding on changing the customs. The authorities should also consider the anxiety of the devotees, who have been protesting peacefully against the government’s hasty move to implement the order.”
The government should understand the issue is sensitive and any attempt to change the age-old customs will have a far reaching impact on the Kerala society, said Sabarimala Karma Samithi general convener S J R Kumar.
“The response to the Sabarimala protest has been unprecedented. Tens of thousands of women have taken to the streets demanding customs to be preserved. We’ve decided to continue the protest until the government accepts our demand to bring out an ordinance. Our workers in each constituency will be approaching the respective MLA seeking to put pressure on the government to bring out an ordinance,” he said.
Travancore Devawom Board former president Prayar Gopalakrishnan demanded the government should form a separate devaswom board for Sabarimala.If the customs are not protected, it will create communal tension in the state, he said.
TDB meeting today to discuss next step
T’Puram: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) will meet on Tuesday to discuss the next step in the Sabarimala issue. Earlier, the TDB had stated that it would file a report in the apex court on the serious developments at Sabarimala. The board has also started consultation with legal experts on the future course of action. TDB president A Padmakumar said the report and future actions of the TDB will take into consideration the devotees’ sentiments and beliefs. The shrine had witnessed tension and violence on all the five days during which it was open for the Thulam poojs. The board had earlier rejected devotees’ demand to file a review petition in the Supreme Court. This was in line with the government decision approving entry of women of all ages to the temple. It is learnt that the board opted for submitting the report to convey its practical difficulties in the implementation of the court order. For this, opinions of the temple thantris and Pandalam royal family would be sought. However, the board fears whether the court would accept such a report instead of a review petition. According to Padmakumar, the board need not file a review petition since the board is party to the 25 review petitions filed by different persons and organisations. The board has the chance to present its opinion during those hearings, he said.