Dalit woman activist camping at Pamba as rains prevent trek
A Dalit woman activist, who was planning to visit the Sabarimala shrine on Saturday, has put her plans on hold following heavy rain and is camping here, as another woman was stopped from entering the temple by devotees who thought she was under 50. PTI
BJP workers held for staging protests at Nilackal
A group of BJP workers was arrested in Nilackal for violating section 144 of CrPC that has been clamped in the area in view of the protests by Ayyappa devotees against the entry of women of all age groups into the ancient Sabarimala temple.
Meanwhile, a member of the Travancore Devaswom Board criticised the statement issued by the Sabarimala temple tantri (chief priest) that the shrine would be shut down in case its traditional customs are broken. PTI
Activist Rahul Easwar’s bail rejected
Protests erupt over rumours of Tamil Nadu woman climbing Sabarimala hill
A massive protest by devotees of Lord Ayyappa broke out near the Sabarimala Sannidhanam on October 20 following rumours that a woman from Tamil Nadu below 50 years of age climbed the hills to offer prayers to the presiding deity.
The situation turned tense in the area, where section 144 was clamped, as devotees gathered in large numbers at 'Valiya Nadapandhal' to protest against the woman's entry into the temple.
However, the tension was defused after the woman, who had come with her family members, convinced the protesters that she was above 50 years, and proceeded to the shrine. (PTI)
Rajnikanth: I welcome Sabarimala verdict but tradition must be followed and respected. (News18)
Fivewomen reportedly attempting the hike to the hilltop, reports Hindustan Times
Protesters allow 52-year old woman to resume trek
Protesters allowed a 52-year old woman to enter after mistakenly stopping her on the trek to the hilltop. The woman had to show her Aadhaar card to prove her age. (Hindustan Times)
Why not triple talaq line to Sabarimala, Sitaram Yechury asks Centre
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury demanded to know why the Centre was not applying the yardstick of equal treatment of women it used on the triple talaq issue to the Sabarimala row and blamed the BJP for whipping up communal passions for electoral gains.
The top Marxist party leader said roughing up of women journalists and the stir led by groups wearing saffron head bands at Sabarimala indicated a pattern seen during the demoliton of Babri masjid (1992) and blamed the RSS for it. (PTI)
Police officers escort activist Rehana Fathima, who made an attempt to enter Sabarimala temple earlier in the daywith journalist Kavitha Jakkal. The duowas forced to return after the priest of the temple refused to open the temple for them. (Image: Reuters)
We should bow down to SC decision: Former Karnataka CM
Siddaramaiah
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah said that "we should all bow down to the Supreme Court's decision on women's entry into the Sabarimalatempleas per the Constitution."
Devaswom board President A Padmakumar told CNN-News 18 that the board has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court, saying “We want to end this standoff.”
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi will be representing the temple board in the top court, Padmakumar said. Abhishek Manu Singhvi is also a national spokesperson for the Congress Party.
Requesting all stakeholders for a meeting, the Kerala Devaswom Board President A Padmakumar said that the "situation is serious" and that the board has decided to prepare a detailed report and approach the Supreme Court. "We will file a report with High Court," Padmakumar added.
"Sabarimala should not be used as a hot bed for politics... We want peace... we don't want Sabarimala to be a protest site..." Padmakumar said, adding that the board is determined to end the standoff.
Kerala Devaswom Board to file
reviewpetition in SCKeralaDevaswom Board has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Courtagainst the verdict allowing entry of women of all ages to Sabarimalatemple.
Policemen escort members of protesting groups to Pampa base camp, to prevent them from clashing with women of menstrual age entering Sabarimala temple for the first time in centuries, in Pathanamthitta district (Image: Reuters).
Kerala Devaswom Board meeting underway
The Kerala Devaswom Board meeting has started. The meeting will most likely decide to file a review petition on the Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages to Sabarimala, News18 has reported quoting sources.
BJP and Congress brainwashing people in name of religion: CPM Kerala secretary
CPMKerala state secretary KodiyeriBalakrishnan said that the party is not against "people's beliefs" and that the SC verdict on Sabarimalais not a "fight between thebelievers and the nonbelievers."
"Instead of sending devotees to protest, the other parties can approach the legal route," Balakrishnan said.
The CPMstate secretary, which is leading the ruling Left Front in Kerala, accused BJPand Congress of "brainwashing people in the name of religion."
Buidling on CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury's earlier statement, Balkrishnan also invoked the Babri Masjid issue and said,"Ram was born in Ayodhya, it's just a faith... Babri Masjid wasbrought down on that faith..."
"This is becoming political but the believers are getting carried away. BJP and Congress never protested in Mumbai when it came to Shani Shignapur and Haji Ali. But they are protesting in Kerala," Balakrishnan said.
Sitaram Yechury accuses RSS of vote bank politics over Sabarimala
On the current situation in Sabarimala, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechurytold media persons, "This is the worst form of vote bank politics being played in the country at the expense of destroying social harmony".
"The pattern in which the protests are happening is similar to the pattern of Babri protests," Yechury said.
On the Congress accusing the Left government of mismanagement, he said, “It’s like the thief accusing the police of the charges.”
“The women were roughed up, and it is all by the RSS. It lost the battle and they will again lose the battle. Those who want to enter cannot be stopped and just wait actions will be taken,” he added.
Yechury concluded his media address by saying, “Oust Modi save India, oust Mamata save Bengal!”
While returning from the temple Kavitha Jakkal said, "Thank you so much for supporting us. We are feeling proud to come here. You have seen what dangerous situation we faced."
Journalist Kavitha Jakkal and woman activist Rehana Fatima returned to Pamba under police protection.
Sabarimala is not a tourist spot, only devotees go there. Right now what Kerala police is doing is wrong. Had there been our govt we would've handled the situation better. We would've talked to devotees, there would've been no violence, said R Chennithala, Congress.
We met the Governor & explained to him the current situation. Not only Hindus but people from all religions are going there. Everyone is worried. The woman activist (Rehana Fatima) was given a police uniform. It was wrong, said Ramesh Chennithala, Congress.
A woman devotee Mary Sweety returned midway after she was stopped by protesters at Pamba; says "I don't know about them ((journalist Kavitha Jakkal & woman activist Rehana Fatima). If women have returned, it is your drawback. I want to go there."
"We were helpless. The head priest said that he will close the temple and that would have been a ritualistic disaster. we could have removed the protesters but the state government had ordered us not to. We will continue to provide security to devotees": Sreejith, Kerala IG
Activists should not come to prove a point, said Kerala Devaswom Board minister Kadakampally Surendran.
JUST IN |
Protesters say "No woman between 10-50 years of age will enter here. We are protecting Sabarimala."
Pune:
Activist Trupti Desai detained by police, earlier this morning, reports ANI. Desai wrote a letter to SP Ahmednagar yesterdaydemanding to meet PM Modi to discuss Sabarimala Temple issue ahead of his Shirdi visit on October 19. She had also threatened to stop his convoy if he doesn't meet.
Protesters continue to block entry of women in temple
JUST IN | Protesters move towards two women about to enter the temple and say that they will not allow her to reach the temple, reports CNN News18. "We will struggle for what is right. We will sacrifice our life," say protestors.
The CPIhas accused the BJP-RSS combine and Congress of indulging in "double-talk" and playing "dirty games" over the Sabarimala issue to target the Left government in Kerala by exploiting people's sentiments.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the second biggest constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist.
CPI National General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy termed as "very unfortunate" the protests in Kerala against the Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages to the hill shrine.
"They (agitators) should respect the SC judgement in spite of the sentiment which they may be having (against it)," Reddy said.
"Gender equality has to be accepted in the 21st century. The old things cannot continue like this," he told PTI.
Six BJP youth wing activists were arrested at Nilakkal for staging a protest in violation of Section 144 of the CrPC, which has been clamped in the area in view of violent demonstrations against allowing women in the menstruating age group inside the Sabarimala temple.
Police removed the slogan-shouting Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha members who launched a sit-in protest at Nilakkal, the gateway to Sabarimala, soon after the BJP state President P S Sreedharan Pillai announced in Thiruvananthapuramthat BJYM activists would violate section 144 in areas including Nilakkal.
–PTI
A Hindu devotee holds a coconut plant as he waits with others in queues inside the premises of the Sabarimala temple in Pathanamthitta district In Kerala.
(Image: Reuters)
Sabarimala allows entry for people of all faith, RSS has been intolerant of this fact: CM Vijayan
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has tweeted, “Sabarimala has a uniqueness that other temples lack; it allows entry for people of all faith. Sangh Parivar and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) have always been intolerant of this fact. They have made many attempts to erase this distinction of Sabarimala.”
“The role they played in eliminating the rituals performed at Sabarimala by Adivasi-Malayaran community is common knowledge. The present troubles must be seen in this light. The RSS backed attackers are obstructing believers and spreading terror,” the chief minister added in another tweet.
“These attackers are motivated by casteist and feudal ideologies. Encouraging such movements will eventually lead to the banishment of backward classes from places like Sabarimala. All believers must condemn this attack on Sabarimala,” he added.
Buses and auto-rickshaws stayed off the road as a strike called by various Hindu outfits in Kerala.
Special security arrangements have been put in place at various locations including Pamba, Nilakkal, Erumeli en route to the Sabarimala temple, located in Pathanamthitta district, officials said.
However, stray incidents of stone-pelting on Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses were reported from some parts of the state, police said. However, private vehicles were plying in some areas. (PTI)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sabarimala issue
Thepremise of the tradition that has been accepted by society and continuously followed for years together was not taken into consideration. The version of heads of religious denominations and faith of crore of devotees was not taken into account:MohanBhagwatsaid about theSabarimalatemple entry issue.
Bhagwatmade the statement during his annualVijayadashamiaddress in Nagpur.
Won’t be able to go further amid protest: Woman journalist
Raj, the woman journalist has said that she will not be able to go further. She has said that she doesn’t want bloodshed, the Hindustan Times has reported.
Raj was verbally abused by pilgrims around her. She was blocked by protesters upon reaching the halfway point during the trek. Protesters blocked her path by lying down on the ground, the newspaper has reported. They also asked the police to shoot them.
Police have thrown a security ring around Raj accompanied by her colleague, a foreigner.
However, there is no confirmation regarding her age.
Local television crew said she is in her late 40s and if she climbed the hill, she would be the first woman of the menstrual age group to visit the Sabarimala temple after the Supreme Court order permitting women of all age groups to enter the shrine.
NEWS FLASH:
Suhasini Raj, a woman journalist with The New York Times has reached Appachimedu today morning, the closest to the shrine a woman in the age group of 15 to 50 has reached in the last 28 years, reports suggests. Raj reportedly has police protection.
Tamil Nadu unit BJP President Tamilisai Soundararajan said the Kerala government can consider bringing an ordinance to reinforce the ban on women of menstrual age from entering the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala. She also accused the LDF government in Kerala of acting against Hindu sentiments.
"By declining requests to go for an appeal or file a review petition, against the Supreme Court order on women's entry, the Kerala government is only displaying its anti-Hindu sentiments," Soundararajan said. (PTI)
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury called the violence in Sabarimala"condemnable" and "unacceptable", reports ANI.
"The way women journalists were manhandled by so-called devotees is unacceptable. Who are those attacking others and not allowing implementation of SC order? Contempt of court is a crime. They should be punished," Yechury said.
Members of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists are marching against the violence in Sabarimala, News18 has reported. The march is taking place in Trivandrum.
Earlier in the day, journalists were manhandled and women journalists were heckled, their vehicles smashed by protesters who besieged the road leading to the temple.
National television showed protesters wearing black and saffron turbans running after women journalists’ cars and violently pounding the vehicles in a bid to stop them from proceeding to Pamba from Nilakkal on their way to Sabarimala.
Kerala Minister for Industries, EP Jayarajan, had earlier said that non-bailable warrants are being issued against those who attacked the journalists.
Devotees stop a car to check if any women of menstruating age are headed towards the Sabarimala temple, at Nilakkal Base camp in Pathanamthitta districtof Kerala (Image: Reuters).
What is Section 144 of the CrPC?
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which is generally prohibitory in nature, restricts people from gathering in the public. It empowers a magistrate to prohibit an assembly of more than four people in an area.
As per the section, anyone found to be gathering in an ‘unlawful assembly’, can be booked for ‘engaging in rioting’.
Carrying a weapon (or anything that can be used as a weapon) to cause hurt, will be considered as a part of an unlawful assembly. Anyone who is booked under Section 144 may be punished with fine or imprisonment (which may extend to two years) or both.
Ministry of Home Affairs has taken cognisance of the violence in Kerala, news agency ANIhas reported quoting sources.
Section 144 imposed in four areas, including Pampa and Nilakkal
Section 144 has been imposed inPampa, Nilakkal, Sannidhanam and Elavungal, reports ANI.
5 devotees, 15 policemen injured in Sabarimala violence; 10 KRTC buses damaged: Kerala minister
EP Jayarajan, the Minister for Industries in Kerala government, while reacting to the violence in Sabarimalablamed "RSS goons" for the unrest.
"The unrest is because of RSS criminals... they are behind all this," Jayarajan said.
The minister added that 5 devotees and 15 policemen have been injured in the violence. He also said that 10 Kerala Road Transport Corporation buses have also been damaged.
Jayarajan said that non-bailable warrants are being issued against those involved in attacks over journalists.
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale reacts to Sabarimala violence
"Everyone should respect the decision of supreme court. No one should protest against the decision of court. No one is above the law," Union Minister RamdasAthawale said, reports NDTV.
Section 144 to be imposed in four places including Pamban and Nilakkal
P. B. Nooh, DistrictCollector has told media persons:"If there was a silent and peaceful protest as mentioned by Rahul Easwar [who was detained earlier today], police would not have taken action".
"Section 144 will be imposed by midnight in four places – Pamba, Nilakkal, Sannidhanam, Elavunkal", he added.
RameshChennithala, Leader of Opposition has told CNN-News 18: "Congress is not attacking anybody, and definitely the attack on journalists is not tolerable. Those who are protesting there, are BJP and RSS people. Nowhere, Congress people are engaged in this kind of hooliganism or vandalism."
Portals of theSabarimala Temple opened at 5 pm today. The devotees can offer prayers till 10.30 pm today. The portals will remain open till October 22.
– ANI
Amid violent protests and tightened security, the doors of Sabarimala temple opened a little before 5pm on Wednesday. The devotees had been lining up at the temple gates since morning.
– CNN-News18
