Cong slams Kerala govt over Sabarimala women's entry issue, calls minister’s claim ‘blatant lie’

Congress urged the Pinarayi Vijayan government to withdraw the written submission filed before the Supreme Court on the matter.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress on Sunday vehemently criticised the Left government in Kerala for its "unchanged" position on the women’s entry issue in Sabarimala and dismissed the claim of Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan in this regard as a “blatant lie”.

The grand old party also urged the Pinarayi Vijayan government to withdraw the written submission filed before the Supreme Court on the matter.

Speaking to reporters here, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said the state government has only stated in its affidavit that the apex court can take an appropriate decision on whether to permit the entry of young women to the hill shrine after consulting religious priests and renaissance leaders.

He said a detailed examination of the written submission filed by the government revealed that it had not made any change in its earlier stand on the women’s entry issue.

“The Devaswom Minister’s claim that they have changed their stand in the Sabarimala women’s entry issue is a blatant lie. They have not made any change from their earlier stand in the matter. That is what we understand after going through the written submission submitted by the government before the Supreme Court,” he said.

Chennithala also sought to know why the Vijayan government does not clearly take a stand that young women should not be allowed to visit the Lord Ayyappa temple.

Not changing their earlier stand amounted to "cheating the devotees", he said, adding that it could not be accepted at any cost.

“So, the government’s present written submission before the Supreme Court should be withdrawn at the earliest. They should adopt the stand taken by the previous Oommen Chandy government that young women should not be permitted at Sabarimala,” he said.

Kerala Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan on Saturday had blamed the BJP for the 2018 Supreme Court verdict permitting women’s entry into Sabarimala and said the LDF government’s present stand remains the same as the affidavit filed before the apex court in 2007.

Responding to queries regarding the affidavit to be filed before the nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court clarifying the state’s position on the entry of women of menstruating age into the hill shrine, Vasavan had also said the apex court had not sought the state government’s position on women’s entry now, but only asked for clarification on certain constitutional issues.