#SabarimalaRow: Opposition walks out of all-party meet over Kerala-govt's stance
Ahead of the Sabarimala temple's opening on Friday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called an all-party meeting on Thursday, but that did not go well. During the meeting, the Kerala government reiterated its stance to abide by the Supreme Court verdict, much to the ire of Opposition parties, who walked out of the meeting. Here are the details.
The Kerala government's stance on the Sabarimala issue
During the meeting, Vijayan said that as a 'law-abiding' state, Kerala had no option but to abide by the Supreme Court ruling. The Chief Minister added that the Kerala government had no intention of diluting the ruling, but was willing to make compromises to avoid violence. He suggested having designated days on which women of menstrual age could enter.
Congress calls the all-party meet a 'drama'
The Kerala government's reiteration of its stance on the issue did not sit well with the Opposition. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala called the meeting a "drama", saying that the Kerala government remained stubborn and was not willing to make a compromise. Subsequently, the Congress-led UDF, and the BJP walked out of the all-party meeting.
Earlier, the SC admitted review petitions on the Sabarimala issue
The all-party meet comes just two days after the Supreme Court admitted petitions calling for a review of its September 28 decision to quash the ban on the entry of women aged 10-50 years to the Sabarimala temple. The apex court will hear the 48 review petitions on January 22. However, till then, the September 28 verdict will remain binding.
Notably, previous temple openings had been marked by violent protests
On the two occasions the Sabarimala temple opened its doors to devotees following the SC's September 28 verdict, violence broke out in Kerala, and saw protesting Ayyappa devotees clash with police and attack journalists. In both occasions, no woman of menstrual age could make it to the temple. Friday's opening of the temple for the two-month-long mandalam festival is expected to attract lakhs of devotees, and violence could well be likely.
