In a bid to influence the review petition pending in the Supreme Court (SC), the Kerala government released a list of 51 women who have entered the Sabarimala temple. Pinarayi Vijayan government of the state also mentioned age and Aadhar details of women of reproductive age who visited the temple. However, various media reports have pointed out the holes in the list aside from the fact that the government has violated privacy regulations.
According to reports, there are several women mentioned in the list by Kerala government who claim they never visited the shrine. Furthermore, when contacted, most of the people said, “Incorrect Aadhar details entered during the online registration landed them in the below 50 age group”. Not only that a large number of men are added in the list under female names.
Interestingly, a man named ‘Shankar’ was mentioned in the list under the name ‘Kalavathy’. Shankar, an auto-driver from Puducherry, when contacted, said that he has no idea how his number appeared on the list. “I drive a tempo traveller and I have undertaken 20 trips to Sabarimala in this pilgrimage season. I don’t remember taking any women in age group of 10-50 years old”, he said. In a similar fashion, another man named ‘Mayandi’ from Chennai visited the shrine in December. However, his number features in the list under the name ‘Kala’. Furthermore, media reports clarify that ‘Deivasigamani’ who was claimed to be a 42-year-old woman from Tamil Nadu in the list is actually a man.
Not only that, there were many instances of discrepancy in the age of many entries mentioned in the list. One such instance is of Pushpam from Madurai, who was on the list, when contacted, her son Raja said that the online registration had recorded her age incorrectly due to an error in the date of birth. “This is the eighth year my mother is visiting Sabarimala. She is 63 years old. There is an error in her Aadhar card”, he added.
What caught the eye, the two women whose surreptitious entry into the shrine sponsored by the communist government created headlines around the country are missing from the list. Till now only two women – Bindu and Kanakadurga – were reported to have reached the hill-top but shockingly their names were not included.
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This ‘heinous act’ of the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) government is just an act of mockery for the Hindu devotee. There had been a mass protest against the LDF government of the state since the news of two women in menstrual age entered the shrine came out. LDF government confirmed that two women had entered into the temple, claiming it followed the September 28, 2018, order of the apex court which allowed entry of women of all ages into the shrine.
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The list is not only an exercise in vanity by the communist government, but it also seeks to influence the review petition of the Supreme Court (SC). By the means of this ‘absurd’ list, the state government here has falsely demonstrated that it has been successful in implementing the SC verdict.