THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan’s statement on Sabarimala ordinance was not based on any logic and not fitting to the stature and position of a parliamentary affairs minister, said NK Premachandran, MP. The Union minister recently said the Centre was awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court on the review petitions challenging its earlier verdict on the Sabarimala woman entry issue and it would bring an ordinance to protect the ritualistic tradition and practices in Sabarimala if the verdict is against the interests of the state.
In the last session, around 35 Bills were passed in Parliament in just 36 days and if the Centre had any sincerity in its words, it could have introduced a legislation to protect the Sabarimala temple. And the minister’s statement that it did not bring in the legislation on the matter because of the review petition pending before the apex court was not based on facts considering the developments in the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act issue, he saidThe Centre brought in the legislation even when its plea seeking a review of the apex court’s judgment diluting the provisions of arrest under the SC/ST Act was pending before the court.
Later, the Supreme Court itself recalled its earlier direction diluting provisions of arrest under the SC/ST Act and upheld the stance of the Centre on the issue. So there are no facts in the arguments of the Union minister in the Sabarimala case, he said.
He also said the state government is also taking a dual stand on the issue. On one hand, the chief minister was stressing the need to take forward the renaissance movement and, on the other, the Devaswom minister was saying that the state government was with the faithful. All these rhetoric are aimed at the bypoll in the state and the state government should be ready to make public its stand on the issue, he added.
Vattiyoorkavu
The flood rescue and rehabilitation works were being used as a pre-poll campaign in the state, which would not bring any positive upswing for the LDF candidate in Vattiyoorkavu constituency, said the MP. Instead, the LDF should approach the people with a progress card on the three-and-a-half-year performance of LDF candidate V K Prashanth as a mayor. The LDF and BJP are having an unholy nexus in Vattiyoorkavu as if in the Pala, he blamed.