Thiruvananathapuram, March 11: A day after CPI-M candidates hit the campaign trail, the first feedback that they seem to have got was the wrong stand that the Pinarayi Vijayan government took with regards to the famed Sabarimala temple. This was evident when state Devasom Minister Kadakampally Surendran extended an open apology for the way things went out of hand in the temple town. Kerala goes to the polls to elect 140 assembly legislators on April 6.
Social media is flooded with the speeches of top CPI-M leaders including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and numerous other top brass, when they took a positive stand on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 to the famed Sabarimala temple, as suggested by the apex court a few years ago. Incidentally it was Vijayan who led from the front and even went to the extent of heralding a renaissance movement, soon after the apex court ruled the entry of all women to the Sabarimala temple in 2018. PC Chacko Quits Congress Ahead of Kerala Assembly Elections 2021, Blames 'Rampant Groupism'.
What then followed was a never seen strong protests and a 'battle' between the believers and the police. At one point of time two women in the hitherto banned age group was able to get a darshan at the famed temple, with a strong police force accompanying them. Even though at the moment the case has been referred to a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court, Surendran, in an open admission, altered the earlier position and on Thursday said looking back on what happened , all of them are deeply sad.
"We have made it very clear that whatever is going to be the apex court verdict, we will go forward only after taking into the views and opinion of all concerned into confidence," said Surendran.