Kerala govt mulling all-party meet on Sabarimala
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 12: The Kerala government is likely to convene an all-party meeting to discuss various matters relating to the Sabarimala temple, which has been rocked by the issue of entry of women in the menstrual age, ahead of the annual pilgrim season commencing this week.
"We are thinking of having an all-party meeting. We have not taken a final decision yet. There are plans...," Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran told reporters here.
The hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala opens on November 17 for the two-month long season in the backdrop of continuing protests against the Supreme Court order allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the temple.
A batch of review petitions against the September 28 verdict that ended the ban on entry of women in the 10-50 age group into the shrine, will be heard Tuesday.
Surendran said a decision on the all-party meeting would be taken based on the outcome of the court hearing.
The temple and nearby areas had witnessed massive protests from devotees against the entry of young women into the shrine, when it was opened for monthly pujas on November 5 and 6 and for five days from October 17.
Over a dozen women under 50 had been prevented from reaching the temple.
The main opposition Congress had earlier urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to convene an all-party meeting before the annual Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
Congress MLA K Muraleedharan had alleged that even basic infrastructure like toilets and drinking water for pilgrims was yet to be put in place at Sabarimala.
The devastating floods in August had caused severe damage to the infrastructure facilities at Pamba following which the base camp had been shifted to Nilackal.
"The facilities for the pilgrims will be completed before the start of the pilgrim season," Surendran added.
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Can't help economies of nations working against India: Dhankhar
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New Delhi (PTI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said that people cannot help economies of nations, through import or travel, that are inimical to the interests of India.
His remarks came amid trade and tourism boycott of Turkiye and Azerbaijan following their support to Pakistan in the conflict with India after Operation Sindoor.
Addressing an event here, the vice president said every individual is empowered to help the nation in security. Trade, business, commerce, and industry in particular can play a pivotal role in security issues, he observed.
"Can we afford to empower countries that are inimical to our interests? Time has come when each one of us must deeply think about economic nationalism," he said.
Dhankhar said, "We can no longer afford, by travel or import, to improve economies of those countries because of our participation. And those countries, in times of crisis, are positioned against us."
He said everything has to be reckoned on the fulcrum of unflinching commitment to nationalism.
Turkiye has backed Pakistan and condemned India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan also used Turkish drones on a large scale during the military conflict with India. Azerbaijan had also expressed support for Pakistan.
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