Ker govt trying to pass the buck on Sabarimala issue: Minister

Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan Saturday said the Kerala government was trying to pass the buck on the Sabarimala temple issue to the Travancore Devaswom Board that manages the shrine, instead of taking responsibility.

"There is no place in Sabarimala for social activists or social enthusiasts. Activists are trying to destroy the unity among the communities and destroy faith in religion," he told reporters here.

He said the government instead of remaining silent on the Lord Ayyappa temple issue should take responsibility.

The minister also accused the Kerala government of being vindictive to people who participated in the protests on the Sabarimala issue.

On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the then chief justice Dipak Misra, lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.

He termed the ongoing war of words between the ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu as nothing but "streetquarrel."