india

Updated: Nov 04, 2019 23:12 IST

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday his government cannot bring in a legislation to circumvent the Supreme Court’s verdict last year allowing women of all ages to visit the Sabarimala temple.

The chief ministers’ comments come days ahead of the top court’s expected decision on a bunch of review petitions questioning its verdict allowing women of all ages to worship at the hill shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.

The top court’s decision in September last year had triggered violent protests in the state.

Replying to question in the assembly, Pinarayi Vijayan said the verdict on Sabarimala can’t be equated with the judgment on Jallikattu, the taming of bulls in Tamil Nadu during Pongal festival.

He said both rulings were different and it was not proper to draw a parallel between the two when some members pointed out the decision of the Tamil Nadu government to bring legislation to bypass the top court’s judgment on Jallikattu.

“The SC verdict on Sabarimala is the one related to fundamental rights. The government still feels that women of all ages should be allowed. Those opposing women are questioning their basic rights. The state government is bound to implement the verdict,” he said.

The chief minister said the government has got a legal opinion that legislation can’t be brought to bypass the verdict. Those who talk big about a legislation were cheating believers, he said adding that the Centre had also made it clear in Parliament.

The chief minister said if the Supreme Court’s decision on the review pleas is different, the government will have no problem in implementing that as well.

He reiterated that the government will not force any woman to enter the temple and it was up to them whether to go or not.

The emotional issue had stirred unrest in the state and both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress had blamed the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, saying its affidavit in the Supreme Court had resulted in the verdict.

The hurry with which the government tried to implement the verdict also angered a large section of devotees. In the last Lok Sabha election, the ruling left front had managed only a single seat out of 20 and the temple issue was cited as the main reason for the drubbing.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Ranjan Gogoi, who retires on November 17, is expected to deliver verdicts on several key issues, including the Ram Janmabhumi- Babri Masjid title dispute and review pleas on Sabarimala questioning women’s entry.

The hill temple will open for a three-month pilgrimage on November 16.