Govt should implement SC verdict on Sabarimala temple after getting 'clarity' from court: CPI-M

It is Kerala government's duty to implement the Supreme Court's verdict in the Sabarimala temple matter after getting 'clarity' from the court, said the CPI-M in a statement.

"CPI-M's stand is that there should be gender equality in all sectors, but the government works under the laws and court orders. Some media reports have claimed that CPM secretariat has taken some decisions regarding the Supreme Court's verdict, which is not true," added the statement.

"In relation to the entry of women of all age groups in Sabarimala, the LDF government acted based on the 1991 Kerala High Court order till the 2018 Supreme Court verdict. After the Supreme Court verdict, the state government tried to uphold its constitutional duty of implementing the order."

"The duty of the government is to implement the present verdict also but there is some confusion among legal experts regarding this. So, the state government's duty is to implement the Supreme Court verdict after getting clarity on it. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also said the same thing. But this has disappointed those who were trying to make political gain from it," the statement read.

A sea of devotees thronged the Sabarimala temple on Saturday evening as the shrine opened for the annual Mandala Pooja. Priests opened the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, marking the beginning of 41-day long puja season.

Kerala government has made it clear that it would not provide security to any woman of menstruating age visiting the shrine, as said by Devaswom Board Minister K Surendran.

The opening of the shrine comes days after a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had referred a clutch of petitions seeking review of its order which paved the way for the entry of women into Sabarimala temple in Kerala to a larger seven-judge bench by a majority 3:2 ruling.

The top court also observed that the right to worship by an individual cannot outweigh the rights of a religious group.

The Supreme Court had lifted a traditional ban on the entry of women of menstrual age (10-50 years) on September 28 last year.

Despite the apex court's ruling, a string of protests took place at the Sabarimala temple and its surrounding areas in the state, when several women attempted to visit the shrine but were stopped by Lord Ayyappa devotees.