Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said his government may arrange separate days for women between the ages of 10 and 50 to visit the Sabarimala shrine.
Vijayan said he would talk to the head priest as well as representatives of the Pandalam palace to see if the plan can be implemented as he made it clear during an all-party meeting that the government would not back down from implementing the Supreme Court verdict despite opposition from BJP and Congress.
Urging the devotees to understand the government’s compulsion, the CM said their beliefs cannot be above fundamental rights of devotees. “As a law enforcing land, we don’t have any other way. This is our appeal to devotees,” he said during a press conference.
He added that the government has no prejudice, but was bound by the top court’s order. “The government is with devotees. Will give security to them. There is no need for concern,” as he stressed on the fact that his government was not being rigid in the matter of faith as alleged by the opposition.
The all-party meet, during which the government had hoped to build consensus ahead of the shrine’s opening on Friday, was a fractious affair as the opposing sides failed to find a common ground and Congress leaders waked out, saying the CM was being adamant.
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