Reprieve In Sabarimala

Contradictory pulls in the Sangh Parivar bring relief to an embattled CM.

- Jeemon Jacob

It has been three weeks since the Supreme Court’s September 28 verdict, and protests over the entry of women to the Sabarimala shrine appear to be winding down in the flood-ravaged state. Tensions had risen following the announcement of a huge public procession from Pandalam to Thiruvananthapuram on October 14, opposing execution of the court’s directions.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would have heaved a sigh of relief when the protesters, led by Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad chief Praveen Togadia, stopped just 100 metres short of his official residence. The much-hyped ‘yatra’, claiming the participation of 500,000 devotees, drew just a few hundred, after leaders of both the BJP and RSS distanced themselves from Togadia and his brand of Hindutva.

Earlier, the state intelligence wing had alerted the government regarding the possibility of violence. Togadia’s fiery diatribe against the state and central governments, however, failed to impress even the most hardcore Hindu devotees in Kerala.