Clarify stand on women’s entry in Sabarimala, Satheesan tells govt.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Tuesday asked the State government to clarify its position on allowing women to enter the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. He said the government was avoiding a clear answer and should openly say whether it supports women’s entry or not.

He alleged that it was the government’s arrogance that led to women being allowed into Sabarimala. He said the Congress party stood for protecting temple traditions. He asked whether the government was ready to revise the affidavit it had filed in the Supreme Court regarding the issue.

Mr. Satheesan further claimed that people had started viewing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) marches as mere public relations exercises.

He accused the government of being directly involved in the alleged financial fraud linked to the Global Ayyappa Sanghamam.

He said paddy farmers were facing the worst crisis they ever experienced. He claimed that during the tenure of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, paddy procurement was carried out efficiently and payments were made on time, but now farmers were struggling to receive their dues.

Mr. Satheesan held an interaction with a large gathering here on Tuesday as part of his ongoing Puthuyuga Yatra. He discussed several issues affecting the district, including farmers’ concerns and matters related to the Government Medical College Hospital, Palakkad.

One of the main issues raised was the crisis faced by paddy farmers. They said they would not be able to survive unless the procurement price of paddy was increased to ₹40 a kg.

Muthalamthodu Mani, representing paddy farmers, said the area under paddy cultivation had drastically reduced from 8.75 lakh hectares to 1.75 lakh hectares. He added that the rising cost of fertilizers was adding to their woes.

Mr. Satheesan assured the gathering that all these issues would be addressed when the United Democratic Front (UDF) returns to power. He promised a special package for Palakkad and said that all memorandums submitted at the event would be carefully considered and none would be ignored.

MPs V.K. Sreekandan, Shafi Parambil, and Benny Behanan; UDF convener Adoor Prakash, District Congress Committee president A. Thankappan, and N. Shamsudheen, MLA, were present.