Kerala to withdraw cases filed during Sabarimala agitation, anti-CAA protests
More than 50,000 people were booked in connection with the agitation.
The Left Democratic Front-led government in Kerala has said it will withdraw all cases, except criminal ones, registered during the Sabarimala agitation and protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a move which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said was an election stunt in the state which is scheduled to hold assembly polls later this year.
More than 50,000 people were booked in connection with the agitation. Kerala had witnessed large-scale violence and five shutdowns in 2018 after the Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of all ages to the temple annulling an age-old bar on women of reproductive age.
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Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) had last week had demanded the withdrawal of cases slapped on those who protested over the issue. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had alleged on February 15 that the LDF government has registered cases against thousands of people who participated in these protests, including Ayyappa devotees who protested against a Supreme Court order, permitting entry of women in all age groups in Sabarimala temple, have been arrested.
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Chennithala had slammed the LDF for adopting a "revengeful" approach towards the people over the issue and said if voted to power, UDF would withdraw the cases registered against these protesters. The statement by the senior Congress leader on the Sabarimala issue had come a day after the Nair Service Society, an outfit of the forward Nair community, demanded that the state government withdraw cases against Ayyappa devotees who took part in the 'Namajapa' procession, demanding protection of the customs of Sabarimala temple.
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NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair, in a statement, had urged the government to show the moral responsibility of withdrawing the cases. He pointed out that the government has unconditionally withdrawn several cases related to other issues.
(With PTI inputs)