Won’t allow RSS to turn Sabarimala into another Ayodhya, says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Kerala, Nov 20: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday he will not allow the RSS to turn the Sabarimala temple into another Ayodhya, referring to the disputed religious site in the Uttar Pradesh town.
Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday he will not allow the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to turn the Sabarimala temple into another Ayodhya, referring to the disputed religious site in the Uttar Pradesh town.
“I will not allow the Sangh Parivar to make Sabarimala into another Ayodhya. There is a concerted bid to defame the state citing Sabarimala,” Vijayan said.
“BJP leaders and ministers are queuing up before Sabarimala to exploit the issue. The government will not allow anyone to fan trouble in Sabarimala,” he said.
The chief minister justified the action taken by the police on Sunday against protesting devotees, saying their intervention helped ease the situation at the shrine to Lord Ayyappa. The present security arrangements at the hilltop shrine will continue to check troublemakers, he added.
Police arrested more than 70 devotees late on Sunday for flouting prohibitory orders outside the Sabarimala temple. The situation at the hilltop shrine was peaceful on Tuesday after Sunday night’s incident.
The temple in Sabarimala opened on Friday for a 64-day pilgrimage, the third time since the Supreme Court lifted restrictions on the entry of women between the age of 10 and 50. There was a string of protests in Kerala in October when the temple opened for the first time after the Supreme Court’s September 28 order.
Traditionalists, who believe the presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is celibate, had opposed the court verdict and last month stopped dozen-odd women who tried to enter the temple.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress attacked the Kerala government after the arrest of the devotees on Sunday.
The BJPs state chief PS Sreedharan Pillai said on Monday there was a “police raj” in Sabarimala and that the pilgrimage to the hilltop shrine to Lord Ayyappa was being affected due to their high handedness as he demanded a judicial probe into the incident.
The leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly Ramesh Chennithala asked if Kerala was under Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler’s rule. The senior Congress leader accused the government of trying to “brand” Ayyappa devotees as Sangh Parivar activists and thus helping RSS recruit people to its fold.
Chennithala and Oommen Chandy, the Congress’ general secretary, led a march of the United Democratic Front (UDF) on Tuesday to the hilltop shrine, which will float the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc). They were stopped at the base camp in Nilakkal by police and allowed to proceed to Pampa, second base camp. Pampa is 5.5km away from hilltop.
Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
