Amid protests against the Supreme court order allowing all women to enter Sabarimala temple, the role of Sangh Parivar in filing the petition has come to light. The Sangh Parivar activists filed the petition in the Supreme Court seeking admission of women in Sabarimala Temple 12 years ago. Five women lawyers who filed the petition in the Supreme Court on July 28, 2006, demanding entry of women, are closely associated with the Sangh Parivar outfits namely, the RSS, the BJP, and the VHP. With this, the hypocrisy of the RSS and the BJP’s agenda in the Sabarimala issue, and the double standards of the protest has been revealed.
The Indian Young Lawyers Association secretary Bhakti Pasriaja Sethi, Preranakumari, Lakshmi Shastri, Alka Sharma, and Sudhapal filed the petition. Prerana Kumari admitted to the media that she and her husband are RSS affiliates. Her husband Sidharth Shambhu is an activist of the RSS and the BJP, including in social media. The photographs of Siddharth Shambhu sharing the stage with BJP president Amit Shah has also been surfaced. Bhakti Sethi, a resident of Rohtak in Haryana, is a spokeswoman for Sangh Parivar and Modi. Her family is also associated with the RSS.
Sabarimala is a prominent Hindu temple located at Pathanamthitta district in Kerala. It attracts tens of millions of pilgrims every year. On September 28, the apex court threw open the doors of Sabarimala temple in Kerala to girls and women of all age groups by lifting the ban on the entry of those between the age of 10 and 50, holding this Hindu religious practice as illegal and unconstitutional.
“The recent judgment on Sabarimala Devasthanam has evoked reactions all over the country. While we all respect the varied temple traditions followed by devotees in Bharat, we have to also honour the honourable Supreme Court,” RSS General Secretary Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi said in a statement.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee member P.K. Sreemathi, MP, has alleged that the Sangh Parivar, Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Congress are trying to wage a mutiny against the Left Democratic Front government and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for complying with the Supreme Court order permitting entry for all women to Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday lashed out at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for “trying to create a law and order situation in the state” by taking advantage of Supreme Court’s verdict to allow entry of all women in the Sabarimala temple. “Government is bound to implement the Supreme Court verdict,” Vijayan stated in a press conference.
