By P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Pinarayi Vijayan government has shed its ambivalence and reactive mode on the Sabarimala issue.
A combative chief minister has sounded out a stern warning to the ‘criminals’ camping at the hill shrine and fomenting violence to thwart the attempts of the government to implement the apex court order on entry of women of all ages to the temple. The ‘criminals’ in the guise of Lord Ayyappa’s devotees will be externed and nobody will be allowed to camp at the shrine and engineer violence, the CM talked tough while addressing a Left Democratic front (LDF) meeting convened to explain the government’s stand on the Sabarimala issue.
The chief minister’s firm stand has sent out a clear message to the state’s police force as well. Although the CM has been reiterating his government’s commitment to implement the SC verdict, the police force has been in a defensive mode until now. Pinarayi Vijayan’s unequivocal reaffirmation of the government’s stand has enabled the police to shed its hesitancy and ambivalence.
The CM’s stern message has come in the wake of a meeting he had with the Director General of Police (DGP) Loknath Behera. The top brass of the police has been told to identify all those who actively participated in the recent protests that turned violent. A close watch will be kept on the social media and those who spread hate messages and rumours. Accordingly, a special team would be formed in each district to swiftly arrest those who participated in illegal and violent activities at Nilackal and Sabarimala. Cases have been filed against BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai, Hindu outfit leader Rahul Easwar and the Tantri (chief priest) for trying to block implementation of the SC order. A photo album of over 200 persons has been released in this connection.
Moreover, restrictions will be introduced for pilgrims with a view to making it extremely difficult for miscreants to organize themselves. Another important step is the decision to regulate the devotees coming to Sabarimala during the forthcoming Mandala-Makaravilakku season using online registration system. Nor will the devotees be allowed to stay back at the Sannidanam after having darshan. The chief minister also signalled his intent to convene a meeting of all South Indian states to discuss these curbs. The chief ministers of these states have accordingly been informed.
The police force has come in for high praise for their exemplary restraint in the face of extreme provocation resorted to by the ‘criminals camping at the shrine. However, the restraint also allowed the criminals to dig in their heels. The police’s ambivalence in a way emboldened these miscreants to check the pilgrims visiting the shrine and stopping them from proceeding to the Sannidanam! Mediapersons, especially women, were singled out by the ‘criminals’ for ‘special treatment’. The women reporters were heckled, intimidated and showered with a barrage of obscenities. In the name of restraint, police reduced themselves to mute spectators while the hooliganism was being unleashed.
But with the CM taking an aggressively proactive stance, the ‘criminals’ will have a tough time implementing their ‘violent agenda’. That is for sure.
The chief minister has also rebuked the members of the former royal family of Pandalam and the tantri for trying to go against the SC verdict. “You are only an employee of the Devaswom Board; and you do not have the power to lock the temple and shut it down at your will and pleasure”, the tantris were told. Devaswom Board has been asked to take action against the tantri.
Likewise, the ‘royal family’ members have been shown their place in an equally firm manner. The days of ‘Rajas’ and ‘kings’ are over and they should not think they are the last word on the Sabarimala temple. The real owner of the temple is the Travancore Devaswom Board and the tantris have to obey its orders, the CM thundered to the glee of secular forces, who had been dismayed by the weak attitude of the government hitherto.
Last but not the least, the CM’s tough stance will make it difficult for the BJP-RSS parivar to intensify the agitation in the coming days. The game plan to blame the Vijayan government alone for the violence at Sabarimala and oust it has already started yielding diminishing returns. People have started seeing through the dangerous and nefarious game being played by the Sangh parivar to destroy Kerala’s secular fabric and ensure communal polarization a la Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The government’s act in doffing the kid gloves has, understandably, gladdened the hearts of the secular people in the state. (IPA Service)
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