THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has been
lurching from blunder to blunder on the highly sensitive Sabarimala issue.
The government has obviously learnt
nothing from its past mistakes. The latest faux pas is a list it submitted in
the apex court of 51 young women in the 10-50 age group who ‘visited’ the hill
shrine after the Supreme Court judgment allowing women of all ages to enter
Sabarimala.
It was clearly an attempt to
convince the apex court that the government had succeeded in implementing the court’s
verdict of September 28, 2018. Out of over 7,500 young women who had registered
on line for darshan at Sabarimala, as many as 51 managed to worship at the holy
hillock, the affidavit claimed. But, in its eagerness to please the SC, the
government submitted a list bristling with glaring discrepancies.
To cite just one example, the list
contains the names of two women who actually turned out to be men! In another
instance, a man aged 47 had been wrongly listed as a female! There were more
such cases, which has caused the government acute embarrassment. Obviously, the
government had gone ahead with the list without doing adequate homework. In the
process, the Pinarayi government has exposed itself to the charge of perjury
and contempt of court.
A jubilant opposition consisting of
the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the BJP have gleefully
grabbed the opportunity to embarrass the government. The government’s act, they
opined, amounted to misleading the court and attracted the charge of contempt
and perjury.
There was absolutely no need for the
government to rush to the court with such a hastily-prepared list. It could
have waited for the court to hear the slew of review petitions pending before
it. Nor has the apex court asked for such a list. By submitting a list
containing patent falsehoods and glaring discrepancies, the government has
given the opposition adequate ammunition to attack it in the days ahead.
Ironically, a golden opportunity has
come the opposition way to revive its agitation, which has lost steam. In fact,
a frustrated BJP-RSS combine is all set to end its relay fast in front of the
Secretariat in the state capital because of thin attendance at the fast venue
and reluctance of party leaders to undertake the relay fast! The factional
strife plaguing the BJP has also taken a heavy toll on the agitation.
In
fact, the BJP is at a loss on its future course of action. The agitation will
take a new form, claim the state BJP leaders. They are obviously waiting for
the congregation of Ayyappa devotees convened by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi.
The success of the congregation will infuse new life into the agitation, they
argue.
The saving grace for the government,
however, is the SC order directing it to provide round-the-clock security to
the two young women who managed to have darshan at the hill shrine. The order
came on a petition filed by the duo seeking protection. The court order
constitutes a stinging snub to the so-called Ayyappa devotees – trouble-makers
recruited by the RSS-BJP, which the ruling party circles accuse of losing no
opportunity to resort to violence and use of vulgar language against any young
woman who reaches Sabarimala. (IPA
Service)
The post LDF Govt Blunders Again On Sabarimala Issue appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
