According to media reports, in a bid to influence the review petition pending in the Supreme Court (SC), the Kerala government had earlier released a list of 51 women who entered the Sabarimala temple. However, the Kerala government, which brought down the number to 17 later, now ends up claiming only 2 had visited the temple.
The clarification comes days after the Pinarayi Vijayan government submitted a report in the Supreme Court following the court’s order regarding the entry of women in the holy shrine. In order to substantiate its claims, the state government also mentioned the 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 the 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 had no idea how his number appeared on the list. In a similar fashion, another man named ‘Mayandi’ from Chennai visited the shrine in December. However, his number featured in the list under the name ‘Kala’. Furthermore, media reports clarified 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 discrepancies 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 most was the fact that 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.
Also Read: PM Modi slams Kerala government on Sabarimala issue
This ‘heinous act’ of the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) government is just an act of mockery for the Hindu devotees. There had been a mass protest against the LDF government of the state since the news of the 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.
Also Read: Congress worker desecrates Sabarimala temple in disguise of an old woman
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. By the means of this ‘absurd’ list, the state government here has falsely demonstrated that it has been successful in implementing the SC verdict.