'SC ignored Sabarimala verdict's social impact': Ramesh Chennithala urges Travancore Devaswom Board to challenge ruling

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala has asked the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, to file a review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s verdict allowing the entry of women of all ages inside the temple. Chennithala claimed that the ruling had hurt crores of Sabarimala devotees, and that the top court did not consider the social impact of its judgment on Kerala, reports said. According to CNN-News18, the Kerala Congress chief also said that he was certain the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was trying to support the verdict because it wants to bring the Uniform Civil Code into force in India. On Sunday, Chennithala had tweeted an article on the Sabarimala verdict, saying that the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala and the Devaswom board should file a review petition against apex court’s verdict allowing the entry of women aged 10 to 50 years into the Sabarimala temple. He added that the verdict was based on wrong arguments and divergent views taken by the board and the LDF government in the court. Chennithala also said that he agreed with the view that rationality should not topple faith.

The LDF Govt & board should seek a review petition against the Sabarimala https://t.co/4KqMfGXaPB now seems that the verdict was based on wrong arguments & divergent views taken by the LDF Gvt & Board before the SC.I concur to the views that rationality shouldnt overtopple faith pic.twitter.com/jXvP1pO4Mh

— Ramesh Chennithala (@chennithala) September 30, 2018

The stand of the former United Democratic Front government in Kerala on the Sabaramila matter was that the beliefs and rituals of the temple should be retained,. and the ban on the entry of menstruating women should continue. The UDF government had also filed an affidavit based on this in the Supreme Court on 5 February, 2016. However, the LDF government changed that affidavit and pleaded that women of all ages should be allowed to enter Sabarimala. Chennithala was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express that the TDB, which functions under the Kerala government, took an opposite stand in court. This double standard by the LDF resulted in “such a judgment” and had an adverse impact on the case, he added. The Congress leader also said that all religious institutions in the country were working on the basis of rituals and beliefs, which were being changed overnight, hurting believers.