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Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to meet Pandalam royals, Sabarimala temple tantri tomorrow
The erstwhile royal family of Pandalam are considered to be the custodians of the famous Lord Ayyappa temple which is managed by the tantri (supreme priest).
Amid the controversy over the entry of women of menstrual ages into the Sabarimala temple, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for a meeting with Pandalam royals and the Tantri family at 3.30 pm on Thursday.
The erstwhile royal family of Pandalam are considered to be the custodians of the famous Lord Ayyappa temple which is managed by the tantri (supreme priest).
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its September judgment that allowed women of all ages to enter the temple, but refused to stay the operation of the verdict.
This has left Kerala government in a limbo as there is strong opposition to women’s entry from various quarters, including the temple’s priest and thousands of devotees.
Although the Kerala government has tried to follow the SC order, by giving police protection to women wanting to enter the hill shrine, they have not been successful so far.
On September 28,the apex court ruled by a 4-1 majority that no woman can be stopped from entering Sabarimala temple, ending a traditional ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in to the shrine. Women of reproductive age were restricted from entering the over 800-year-old shrine in south Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district because its presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be a celibate.
Kerala chief minister, Vijayan, said the fact that the Supreme Court did not stay its earlier verdict meant that government was duty-bound to enforce it and it will seek legal opinion.
Legal experts also said that since no stay has been clamped on the operation of the earlier verdict, it was up to the government to decide whether to allow women entry into the shrine pending a final order.
