High drama at Sabarimala foothills as women, police face ire of devotees
Pamba, Dec 23 : The Sabarimala foothills here Sunday witnessed high drama as hundreds of devotees blocked paths and chased away a group of 11 women of menstruating age being escorted to the hill shrine by the police.
Though the police team tried to arrest and remove a few of the devotees who blocked the traditional forest path and take the women members of Chennai-based outfit 'Maniti', hundreds of pilgrims rushed down to the valley to chase them away.
They could barely move 100 metres through the traditional path towards the temple, which is about five km away from here.
The women and the police had to virtually run from the scene to the safety of a nearby guardroom, abandoning the trekking plan, after being booed by protesters.
Defying prohibitory orders, hundreds of devotees thronged the forest path here blocking the way of the women, who reached in the early hours from Chennai.
Police tried to remove the protesters by force as they were not ready to budge despite their repeated announcements to disperse and end the namajapa (chanting sacred hymns) protest.
Repeated talks by the police with the women who were sitting on the road for over six hours, also failed as they insisted on climbing the hill and have darshan at the shrine.
As the Pandalam royal family, attached to the Ayyappa temple, and the opposition BJP accused the government of taking the "activist women" with police protection, Devaswom Minister, Kadakampally Surendran said they would act according to directives of the high court-appointed monitoring panel.
"We hope that that the high court appointed three-member panel will look into the matter and take a suitable decision in this regard. The government will act according to that, Kadakampally Surendran told reporters.
However, BJP leader K Surendran alleged that the arrival of women was "well-planned" and the CPI-M led LDF government was behind the move.
The BJP and other right-wing activists staged namajapa protests across the state including before the Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in Thiruvananrhapuram.
'Manithi' coordinator Selvi said in Pamba that more members of the outfit were on their way to Sabarimala and the 11 women was only the first batch.
Selvi said women also have the right to pray at the temple and that they would not return without darshan.
"Police is asking us to go back in view of protests. But, we won't go back without darshan. We will wait here till we are allowed to trek climb the hills, she told reporters here.
A Kerala-based Dalit activist, Ammini also announced her decision to trek Sabarimala Sunday.
She said in Kottayam that if the protesters blocked her, she would stage an indefinite hunger strike at Pamba, on the foothills of Sabarimala.
The 'Manithi' group reached Pamba by 3.30 am through the Idukki-Kambamedu route in Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
Local television channels said they had to face protests at various places on their way but police removed the protesters and helped them to reach up to Pamba.
Of the 11 women, six carried the traditional irumudikettu which is mandatory to climb the 'pathinettam padi' (holy steps leading to sanctum sanctorum).
Thilakavathi, another member in the group, said they would continue the protest till they could offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa.
"Priests of the local temple at Pamba did not cooperate with us and declined to get our 'irumudikettu' (sacred offering to the God) ready as per custom. So we did it on our own," she said.
Women, in the age group of 10-50 years, are traditionally barred from entering the Sabarimala temple. But the Supreme Court, through its September 28 landmark verdict, has lifted the curb and permitted women of all age groups to offer prayers at the temple.
Anxiety had loomed large in and around Sabarimala Temple for some days as 'Manithi' had declared last week that a group of 50 women, all below the traditionally barred age of 50 years, would visit the shrine.
Selvy had told a Malayalam TV channel that the group comprised women from different states, including Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka besides Kerala.
She had also said they had already written to the office of Kerala Chief Minister and informed him about their plan to trek to the hill temple.
Kerala had witnessed massive protests by devotees opposing the entry of girls and women in the 10-50 age group into the Sabarimala Temple since the Kerala government decided to implement the September 28 verdict of the Supreme Court permitting women of all age groups there.
Over a dozen women have so far made unsuccessful attempts to trek the holy hills.
Four transgenders, who were earlier stopped from proceeding towards the Lord Ayyappa temple citing security reasons, offered prayers at the hill shrine under heavy police security earlier this week.
The Kerala High Court earlier this month appointed a three-member committee, vesting them with powers to oversee law and order and other problems faced by pilgrims during the ongoing annual season.
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Modi govt by changing name of MGNREGA exposed its 'hatred' towards Gandhi: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attempting to change the name and structure of the MGNREGA, has itself exposed its "hatred" towards the poor and towards Mahatma Gandhi.
He also accused the Centre of "altering" the very structure of the scheme, by shifting nearly 40 per cent of the cost onto the state governments, and called Modi "anti federal".
Suggesting that the NDA government at the Centre start a "Ministry of Name Change", with the Prime Minister himself holding that portfolio, the CM warned of a statewide agitation against this name change move.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from it.
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"The Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is attempting to change the name and structure of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), has itself exposed its hatred towards the poor and towards Mahatma Gandhi," Siddaramaiah said in a statement.
Implemented by the UPA government 20 years ago, the MGNREGA scheme has played a crucial role in eradicating unemployment and poverty in rural areas, he said, adding that "this scheme, which guarantees the right to employment to every individual, has received praise from economists both in India and abroad."
Noting that MGNREGA was a genuine form of employment guarantee, the CM said the proposed new structure under the Modi government strips away that guarantee and places the assurance of work at the whims of political leaders.
"This will further deepen caste discrimination and social inequality," he claimed.
Highlighting that the NDA government has altered the very structure of MGNREGA, a scheme whose entire expenditure was earlier borne by the Central government, by shifting nearly 40 per cent of the cost onto the state governments, Siddaramaiah said this stands as clear evidence of the "anti-federal attitude" that Prime Minister Modi has followed ever since coming to power.
"This move will also increase the migration of poor people in search of work as the proposed form does not guarantee employment in their own location -- forcing families to travel long distances to survive," he said.
Naming this scheme after Mahatma Gandhi, who sowed the dream of Gram Swaraj, was a meaningful decision, the CM said, "While Prime Minister Narendra Modi indulges in praising Gandhi during his foreign tours, within the country he has consistently engaged in attempts to erase Gandhi's legacy from key national programmes. From a parivar that seeks to glorify Gandhi's assassin Godse, what different conduct can one really expect?"
"Narendra Modi is widely known for simply changing the names of landmark schemes launched by the UPA government rather than preserving or strengthening them. It would be more appropriate for this government to start a 'Ministry of Name Change,' with the Prime Minister himself holding that portfolio," he said.
More than 25 flagship programmes launched during earlier governments were merely renamed or repackaged by the present regime, the CM further said, listing out that the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan was rechristened as the Swachh Bharat Mission, while the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account scheme was rebranded as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, among others.
"These changes reflect a consistent pattern of altering names rather than fundamentally strengthening or expanding the original intent of these welfare initiatives," he added.
Stating that the Congress party and state government strongly condemn this "anti-people" decision of the Narendra Modi government, which has snatched food from the plates of the poor, insulted Bapu, and attempted to strangle state governments financially, Siddaramaiah warned about launching a statewide agitation against this move.
"The responsibility of preserving the MGNREGA scheme in its original form must also be taken up by the lakhs of beneficiaries of the scheme. They must hold the BJP leaders of the state accountable and exert pressure on them to raise their voices against this injustice, rising above party lines," he said.
