4 min readThiruvanananthapuramUpdated: Mar 15, 2026 02:08 AM IST
The Opposition Congress and BJP Saturday hit out at the Left government for “changing its stance” on the entry of young women into the Sabarimala temple, alleging that it is eyeing the approaching assembly elections and “deceiving the faithful”.
Opposition Leader V D Satheesan told the media, “The government has changed its stand with an eye on elections. The CPI(M) had claimed that it was progressive and standing for renaissance values. For the government, the Opposition was retrogressive. With elections round the corner, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has run away from his earlier stand favouring young women entry at the temple.”
Senior BJP leader and former union minister V Muraleedhran said the CPI(M) government’s stand is only to deceive the faithful. “There is a deliberate attempt to create an impression that the government has changed its stand on Sabarimala. The government is not ready to correct its earlier stand favouring the entry of young women. At the same time, it says experts on rituals should look into the issue. The CPI(M) is deceiving the faithful,” he alleged.
On April 7, a nine-Judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will begin hearing important constitutional questions arising from petitions seeking review of its 2018 judgment that allowed the entry of all women, irrespective of their age, to the temple.
In written submissions to the SC on Saturday, the Kerala government said it “is of the considered opinion that what is to be considered by the Court, in the matter of a judicial review with regard to Article 25, should not be as to whether a particular religious practice or belief appeals to reason or sentiment, but should be as to whether the belief is genuinely and conscientiously held as part of the profession or practice of religion.”
To be sure, the state government had earlier supported the 2018 decision.
But in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections — the first electoral test after the state government facilitated the entry of young women — the Left had suffered a severe jolt, with the Congress-led UDF coalition winning 19 out of the 20 parliamentary constituencies.
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The CPI(M) had then reviewed that the party’s setback was partially due to its stand on Sabarimala — which had sparked massive protests — among other issues.
The issue has come up before the Supreme Court at a time when Assembly elections are around the corner. And this time, the ruling party has dropped several hints that it would not adopt a stand that hurts sentiments of the faithful with regard to allowing young women at Sabarimala.
Earlier on Saturday, Kerala Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan also hinted as much.
Without directly going into whether the state government had taken a U-turn on young women being allowed entry, the minister said, “We have always been faithful with regard to rituals and traditions at the temple.”
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“In the affidavit submitted in the SC in 2007, the government had stated that an expert committee comprising persons who have deep knowledge in temple rituals should make decisions on rituals and customs at the temple, including young women’s entry. Our stand is very clear. We have always been with the faithful. When the court seeks the state’s stand on young women’s entry, we will submit our stand. At present, the Supreme Court has raised seven Constitutional questions. When the Supreme Court passed an order in favour of young women… in 2018, we had implemented it. We were bound to go by the SC verdict,” he added.
