Ramesh Chennithala demands apology from Kerala CM for violating Sabarimala rituals

Senior Congress leader and former KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala said on Thursday that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should apologise to Ayyappa devotees for violating the Sabarimala tradition, if he and the CPI-M is earnest in its course correction on issues like entry of women at Sabarimala shrine.

Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, Chennithala said the Pinarayi Vijayan government paved the way for the entry of women by amending the affidavit given by the Oommen Chandy government in the Supreme Court . Through this, the chief minister of Kerala hurt the sentiments of the believers and turned Sabarimala into a centre of violent protests. He also asked whether the government is ready to withdraw the amended affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court.

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The chief minister should also clarify whether the government is ready to withdraw the cases filed against thousands of devotees for holding ‘namajapa processions, taken out by devotees against allowing entry of women of all age groups at Sabarimala temple,’ demanded Chennithala.

Chennithala said the move to categorize devotees coming to Sabarimala as ‘privileged class’ is unacceptable .Regardless of caste and religion, everyone is the same before Lord Ayyappa.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan and former Governor of Mizoram, said in Pathanamthitta on Thursday that no one would be prevented from attending the Global Ayyappa Sangamam being organised by the Travancore Devaswom Board(TDB) with the support of the Kerala government at Pampa on September 20.

He made the remarks after meeting representatives of the Pandalam royal family to invite them to the Viswasi Sangamam’ (believers’ summit) being organised by various Hindu outfits on September 22 at Pandalam as an alternative to the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. “No one will be told not to attend the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. However, there is a question over the intention behind it. What is the moral right of an atheist government to organise an Ayyappa Sangamam? When we asked them about withdrawing cases, they claimed it was sub judice. When we asked about the Supreme Court affidavit, they again said it was sub judice,” Kummaam said.

Meanwhile, state Devaswom Minister Vasavan on Thursday reiterated that there was no politics behind the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. “There is no politics in it. It is only a summit of Ayyappa devotees, organised as part of the TDB’s platinum jubilee,” he said.