Kerala: Protests Against Sabarimala Verdict Intensify, Communist Government’s Haste In Implementation Questioned

A day after Kerala saw protests against Sabarimala verdict, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mahila Morcha held protest in front of the Travancore Dewaswom Board (TDB) to bring pressure on the body, The New Indian Express has reported .

Mahila Morcha members chanted hymns of Lord Ayyappa as part of their protests. Activists under the banner ‘Sabarimala Protection Council’ had earlier held protests by blocking the roads.

“Perhaps, the government may take a stand that they won’t go for a review petition. However, it is difficult to understand how an independent organisation like the TDB, which came into existence pledging to protect Sabarimala and 1,200 other temples, its rituals, practices and faith, can take such a stand,” Nair Service Society (NSS) general secretary G Sukumaran Nair told the New Indian Express . He also criticised the government’s haste in implementing the Supreme Court’s order.

BJP state general secretary Sobha Surendran said that Jallikattu-model protests would be held across the state if the government delays in filing a review petition in the case. Further, she added that any women who tries to enter the Ayyappa temple in violation of the customs would be doing so at the cost of emotions of the people of the state.