Kerala Assembly Elections | Sabarimala issue back in focus

Around two years after it paved the way for widespread upheaval in Kerala, a Supreme Court verdict that permitted entry of women of all ages in Sabarimala temple appears to have taken centre stage yet again as the State approaches Assembly polls.

Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran’s “regret” at the fallout after the court order was implemented, during his campaign in the Kazhakuttom constituency, revived the issue. Opposition parties have now latched on to the opportunity to reap political dividends that will translate into electoral gains. With CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s defence of the government’s handling of the issue during an interview given to a news channel providing more ammunition for both the Congress and the BJP, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has now stepped in to assure that the government will take a final call only on the basis of the impending verdict of the apex court’s nine-member Constitution Bench and after holding wider consultations with devotees and various sections of the public.