THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress on Saturday released the draft of a law it promised to enact for the protection of traditional practices at the Sabarimala temple if it comes to power. Releasing the document in Kottayam, senior leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the law will ensure a two-year jail term for people violating the traditional rituals of the hill shrine.
The draft — Sabarimala Ayyappa Devotees (Protection of Religious Rights, Customs and Usages) Act, 2021 — proposes entry restrictions with the permission of the temple thantri.Thiruvanchoor said the draft, prepared by former director general of prosecution T Asaf Ali, will be the UDF’s trump card while going to the polls in less than three months’ time.
‘LDF can override Sabarimala SC verdict’
“The LDF government has been dilly-dallying on the Sabarimala legislation, saying it cannot do anything since the matter is before the Supreme Court. In reality, the state government can intervene since it comes under the concurrent list,” said Thiruvanchoor. He also said the LDF government can override the SC verdict only with a new legislation.
The draft states the TDB, in consultation with ‘thantri’, shall impose a ban on unauthorised entry into the Ayyappa temple and its precincts. It will ensure no one commits any act which would derogate its purity, serenity, cleanliness and sacredness. The BJP state leadership has criticised the draft, saying it is just a move ahead of the elections with vice-president M T Ramesh describing it as a political stunt.
Govt to go by SC order, says Isaac
Alappuzha: Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac on Saturday said the state government would go by the Supreme Court order on women’s entry at Sabarimala. The government will implement the SC order after discussions with the public, he told reporters.