CPM’s somersault on Sabarimala issue is a deceptive stand for electoral gains: Venugopal

Guruvayur: AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Saturday alleged that the CPM's latest stand on Sabarimala women's entry issue is a somersault made in the backdrop of assembly elections.Venugopal told reporters in Guruvayur that many of the turbulences faced by the people of Kerala could have been averted had the state govt taken a mature stand soon after Supreme Court pronounced its order on women's entry. "The govt should have convened a meeting of all stakeholders and tried for a consensus. The govt could have communicated this consensus and the practical constraints in implementing the order to the apex court. Many devotees had to endure severe hardships and even had cases registered against them. All this happened because of the anti-faith stand of the CPM and the chief minister," Venugopal alleged.He said the LDF has now changed its stance as an escape route from the pathetic situation it is facing on the electoral front. "Although CPM has now changed its stand with an eye on the election, it is a good decision. The govt is now taking so many decisions towards the fag end of its tenure, which can be implemented only by a new govt. A UDF govt is set to come to power in Kerala soon and it will cancel all the anti-people decisions of the outgoing LDF regime," Venugopal said.Pillai ridicules CPM's ‘opportunism'BJP leader and former Goa governor P S Sreedharan Pillai alleged that CPM had hailed the Supreme Court order permitting women of all ages to enter Sabarimala hill shrine describing it as a progressive development. The Congress had also initially adopted such a stand. "As the BJP state president back then, I said that a conclave of religious scholars must take a decision on the issue. Now that they have changed their stand, both the parties must apologise to the people of Kerala. CPM will be the winner if an award is instituted for those who practise opportunism at the highest level," Pillai said.