Devaswom Board Rejects Filing Review Petition, Deadlock continues in Sabarimala

An emergency meeting has been convened by the members of Devoswom board in Thiruvananthapuram in the Sabarimala case, but it failed to end the deadlock because the board rejected the proposal to filing a review petition in the Supreme Court

Thiruvithamkoor Devaswom Board’s (TDB) meeting with the stakeholders broke down as the Board rejected the proposal for filing review petition before SC. It is alleged that TDB took an adamant stand, despite the CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s earlier words that it was up to TDB to take a decision regarding review petition. CM’s statement, during the press meet, that no question of legal steps or review petition, has definitely influenced the TDB. TDB says, they can take a decision only in a meeting on October 19. Representatives of Pandalam Royal family and Thanthris smell a rat in this stand. Temple nata (main door of the shrine) will be reopened on October 18. Pro CPM-extreme leftist-anarchist girls are getting ready to go to the temple. Women believers have already stopped several vehicles at Nilakkal, the gateway to Shabarimala and forced the young women to disembark from the buses they travelled. If more young women come on October 17 and if the women volunteers keep on stopping them, it will lead to physical clashes hence law and order issue.

Pandalam Royal family and the Thanthri family left the meeting venue after hearing that TDB would not go ahead with the review petition. Therefore, they have their own doubts about the hope for any way out after the TDB meeting of October 19.

BJP president Adv. P.S. Sreedharan Pillai told a press conference that stand of the CM and TDB is unfortunate. Government and TDB should immediately seek a legal remedy to this burning issue. He ridiculed the worried state unit of the Congress party which runs to Rahul Gandhi seeking permission to go ahead with direct agitation in Sabarimala issue. He was referring to the moves of A.K. Antony, KPCC president Mullappalli Ramachandran and Ramesh Chennithala, LoP in Kerala assembly, to approach Rahul. They know that they will be disconnected from the people if they keep away from the issue. They are worried about the popularity BJP and NDA got after the Long March. The people, especially the women, of Kerala has already kicked off an agitation from which there is not return until the goal is achieved.

Adv. Pillai said that BJP would spread Sabarimala agitation throughout the country. Now, it is spreading throughout the world. Pillai added, he would observe hunger strike in Pathanamthitta on October 17 in this connection. State leaders and party workers would join him.