Women’s entry in Sabarimala a closed chapter: CPM ; BJP says it’s not a closed chapter

Amid the political row over the Global Ayyappa Sangamam (Global Ayyappa Summit), being organized by the LDF government at Pampa in Sabarimala on September 20, CPI-M Kerala secretary MV Govindan on Tuesday said the LDF government will not step back from the event and his party stands firmly with devotees and not with communal forces

Speaking to media persons in Thrissur on Tuesday, Govindan said the CPI-M and LDF government will not step back from the event and the party stands firmly with devotees

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“We will not retreat just because of criticisms. The CPI-M is with the devotees, not with communalists,” he said

When reporters asked about the issue of women of menstruating age entering Sabarimala, Govindan declined to comment and said it was a “closed chapter”

“The Supreme Court is still considering the petitions related to women’s entry in Sabarimala.There is nothing more to discuss now. For me, “it is a closed chapter,” he said

He said that the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, an event organised by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), aligns with the interests of Ayyappa devotees worldwide. The TDB president had already clarified that the event was organised in response to requests from devotees across the world

Stating that the communalist people are opposing initiatives like Ayyappa Sangamam, MV Govindan said they( the communalists) are the ones who use religion as a tool. Both the CPI-M and the LDF government are with the devotees, he added

Responding to MV Govindan’s statement that Women’s entry in Sabarimala is a “ closed chapter”,BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the issue (of women entering Sabarimala) is not a closed chapter.

The CPI- M leadership, by making such statements, is once again insulting the Ayyappa devotees. If the Travancore Devaswom Board and the state government have even a little sincerity towards the devotees, they should withdraw the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court against the rituals in Sabarimala before the Pampa conference, he said

He said the CPI-M is trying to deceive devotees in the name of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Sangamam. What the Devaswom Board, LDF government and the CPI-M are now showing is not a sincere effort, but only a politics of exploitation as the elections approach, the BJP Kerala chief said

“No believer will ever forget or forgive the Pinarayi Vijayan government, which tarnished the sanctity of Sabarimala and wounded the feelings of devotees. These current statements and stances are just a strategy of the CPI-M as the elections approach. If the CPI-M is at least a little sincere in what it says, it should be prepared to withdraw the affidavit against the rituals in Sabarimala submitted to the Supreme Court before the Pampa conference,” he said.