THURUVANANTHAPURAM: There is no escaping this conclusion: The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has squandered another golden chance to defuse the tension over the ongoing agitation on the Sabarimala issue.
Politics is the art of the possible. The situation arising out of the Supreme Court judgment on the Sabarimala issue is pregnant with possibilities. But the Vijayan government has failed to feel the pulse of public opinion, and ended up taking wrong decisions.
A closer look at the government’s lapses is in order to put things in proper perspective. The government made three major mistakes. The first one was to betray what its detractors perceived as an unseemly hurry to implement the apex court’s verdict – a major criticism levelled by the government’s detractors. There was no need to rush headlong into it.
Critics say – and they are right – that the government should have sought more time for implementation of the SC order. It is not as if there have been no precedents. The government, for instance, delayed implementation of the SC order on the reinstatement of former Kerala Director General of Police (DGP), T P Senkumar. There is also a valid ‘excuse’ for the government to stall early implementation of the SC order on Sabarimala. It could have argued that since the government is busy tackling the grave situation caused by the century’s worst floods, it needs more time to implement the order. It did not, touching off a wave of indignation from the devotees of Lord Ayyappa.
The second lapse was its refusal to allow the Travancore Devaswam Board to file a review petition (RP). The Board was initially in a mood to file a petition. But it backtracked after the chief minister frowned upon the move. That was an unwise move, which again angered the devotees and the opposition parties. The Devaswam Board is an autonomous body, and it should have been permitted to file the RP. That would have taken the wind out of the sails of the malicious propaganda unleashed by the detractors that the government is deliberately ignoring the sensibilities and strong feelings of lakhs and lakhs of Ayyappa devotees. Another chance to defuse the situation lost.
The third slip-up was to set preconditions for talks with the erstwhile Pandalam royal family and the Tantri (acharya) family. The government did the right thing by inviting them for talks. But it bungled when it made out that the talks were aimed at only discussing the modalities of implementing the apex court order lifting age restrictions on women entering the hill shrine! The government’s stance gave the Tantris and the erstwhile Pandalam royal family members a chance to avoid attending the talks. Yet another self-goal!
How will letting the Devaswam Board file a review petition benefit the government? That is a legitimate question posed by the supporters of women’s entry into the temple. The answer is simple: it would have served a twin purpose: silencing the critics of the government and erasing the perception that the government is against the interests of the devotees.
The government as well as its critics know that there is only a remote possibility of the review petition being approved by the apex court. It is a win-win situation for the government either way. If the SC rejects the petition, the government can say that there is no option but to implement the order now. If the court concedes the demands contained in the review petition, again, the government can claim it has done the right thing by the devotees by allowing the Board to file the RP.
Such a deft move would serve another purpose as well. It would prevent the alienation of a substantial section of the Hindus – they constitute the main support base of the CPI(M) – who are angry with the government’s stance on the Sabarimala issue.
It is not late for the government to retrieve the situation even now. The latest talks the Devaswam Board had with the major stakeholders – the tantric family and the former Pandalam royal palace members – failed to make a breakthrough because the latter insisted on the Board filing a review petition on Tuesday itself. The Board, however, refused, saying that a final decision would be taken only at a meeting it has convened on October 19. A clear indication that the last word on filing a review petition has not been said.
The government should grab this chance with both hands, and allow the Board to file a review petition. That way, the government can deflect the growing criticism that it rides rough shod over the feelings of Ayyappa devotees.
Will the government muster the courage to do it? It is an extraordinary situation. And extraordinary situations demand extraordinary solutions and out-of-the-box thinking. Here is another opportunity for the government to redeem itself. Kerala is waiting with bated breath. (IPA Service)
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