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Sitaram Yechury’s Sabarimala comment gives Cong, BJP ammo to attack Kerala govt
The Congress and the BJP sought to leverage Sitaram Yechury’s comments on the Sabarimala issue to corner the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala. The two parties said his comments exposed the hollowness of the recent soft corner of the CPI (M) towards devotees.
The Congress and the BJP on Wednesday claimed that Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s defence of the Kerala government’s handling of the protests at the Sabarimnala temple more than two years ago showed that the regret expressed by a minister was a was a smokescreen ahead of the assembly election.
The attack by the Congress and the BJP came after Yechury’s statement in Delhi on Wednesday that the party’s position on the Sabarimala temple was right.
Yechury told a news channel in Delhi that he had no idea why Kerala Temple Affairs Minister Kadakampally Surendran expressed regrets over the handling of the protests against the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple and that the party’s position remained same as it was based on policy of equality as enshrined in the constitution.
Last week the minister had expressed regrets over violent incidents that unfolded at the hill temple in late 2018 when the government tried to implement a Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of all ages to enter the shrine.
“I don’t know in which context Surendran said this. As far as the party is concerned its position remains the same. We believe in equality. The elected government was duty-bound to implement the verdict of the highest court of the country,” he said and insisted that the party’s position on the contentious issue was right.
“The Supreme Court verdict upheld equality. The government has no other option but to implement it,” he said.
When asked about this, the minister refused to comment. “I don’t want to flare it up. No comments on the issue,” Surendran said in Kazhakootam on the outskirts of the state capital from where he is seeking re-election. His main opponent Shobha Surendran (BJP) said Sabarimala will be her main poll issue. “How can he shed tears now? He presided over the brutal attack on devotees,” she said.
The Congress and the BJP sought to leverage Yechury’s comments to corner the government. The two parties said the comments exposed the hollowness of the recent soft corner of the party towards devotees. “The party has insulted devotees again. The state minister’s regret was only aimed at some votes,” said opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asked the government to withdraw its affidavit in the court and describe it as one of the main reasons that led to the verdict in 2018. “If the government is sincere enough it has to withdraw its affidavit and ask for status quo at the temple. The affidavit filed during the regime of the last government created all troubles,” he said.
BJP’s Kerala unit president K Surendran the two contrasting comments by the two CPI (M) leaders exposed the party’s double standard.
“The party’s double standard is exposed yet again. Many devotees were making regular rounds to the court for chanting hymns during the height of protest. Yechury has now made it clear that the party is not with devotees. Devotees can’t be deceived like this,” Surendran said.
In 2018 the state had witnessed high drama and violence as at least 18 women in the age group of 10-50 were prevented by protesting devotees when they tried to enter the temple after the SC verdict. The ruling CPI(M) had drawn flak for its hastiness in implementing the verdict. The state has witnessed five shutdowns during the three-month pilgrimage season in 2018. After widespread protests, revision petitions were referred to a nine-member bench by the apex court.
When the opposition raked the issue again, the government withdrew close to 5,000 cases registered during the stir last month.
The state government’s handling of the temple issue was one of the reasons for the drubbing of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the last general election in which it lost all but one of the 20 Lok Sabha seats. The CPI (M) had recently instructed its leaders not to make any sweeping comment on the temple issue.
