LDF govt will not change its stand on Sabarimala: Pinarayi Vijayan

Despite the perception Sabarimala issue was the reason for the LDF’s drubbing in the
Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan Wednesday said his government does not intend to change its stand and wound continue to protect women’s rights.

As the opposition Congress-led UDF, which won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats, sought to taunt him in the state assembly over the LDF’s poor showing, a visibly annoyed Vijayan said if opposing communalism was seen as arrogance on his part, he will continue it.

He was responding to Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala who, during the discussion on demand for grant, said even CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had offered to resign after the poll debacle.

“The Left had to face a massive defeat. Even Yechury offered to resign yesterday. There is no need for Yechury to express the moral responsibility that our Chief Minister does not have. Even after the defeat the chief minister has been behaving like nothing has happened,” the Congress leader said.

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He also said the Congress thumping win was also the “victory of secularism”.

Chennithala said his party will make a legislation to protect the rights of devotees if it comes to power in the next assembly polls.

Kerala had witnessed massive protests after the LDF government decided to implement the September 28 verdict of the Supreme Court allowing women of menstrual age to offer
prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.

The state government had also lined up a 620 km long human wall of women across the state on January 1 this year to uphold gender equality and to protest gender discrimination.

In his remarks in the assembly, Vijayan defended his government stand on the Sabarimala issue and said it will not remain a mute spectator if the rights of women were violated.

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“What we did was accepting and implementing the courts order. If the rights of women are being violated, we cannot stand and watch. We will take strong action against such
violations,” the Marxist veteran said.

Political observers had attributed the LDF’s rout to the “arrogant attitude” of Vijayan, who took a strong stand in implementing the Supreme Courts verdict, rejecting appeals
for filing a review petition.

“We saw the communal forces running amok (during Sabarimala protests) in the state. They wanted a docile government which will listen to their agenda. We strongly opposed them. I stood strong to fulfil the responsibility vested in me. If this is arrogance, I will repeat it,” Vijayan said.

The chief minister while reacting to the poll outcome last week had rejected suggestions that the Sabarimala issue was the reason for LDF’s dismal showing and claimed many had
voted for Congress expecting it to form the government at the Centre.