Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the Supreme Court had not considered centuries-old traditions while allowing women of menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
“The version of heads of religious denominations and faith of crores of devotees was not taken into account,” he said. The RSS chief claimed that those women who filed petitions against the ban will not visit the shrine, ANI reported. “A large section of women follow this practice [of not entering the temple],” he said. “Their sentiments were not considered.”
On Wednesday, protestors had blocked women, including journalists, who tried to visit the shrine as it opened for a monthly ritual. On Thursday, some outfits began a 24-hour shutdown in Kerala in protest against the top court’s verdict.
In an address to RSS workers in Nagpur on the occasion of Vijayadashmi, Bhagwat also said the Centre should enable the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya through an appropriate law. He said the construction of the temple is necessary from the “self-esteem point of view”, and it would also “pave the way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness”.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions on the Ayodhya dispute. Bhagwat said: “If we have to get the verdict which will not lead to repentance, then the voters will have to rise above self, parochial feelings, petty egos of caste, language and provincial affiliations, keeping in mind that the national interest is supreme.”
Calling Ram the “personification of life energy of the nation”, the RSS chief claimed, according to PTI: “The place of Janmabhoomi is yet to be allocated for the construction of the temple although all kinds of evidence have affirmed that there was a temple there.”
“This matter of national interest is being obstructed by some fundamentalist elements and forces that play communal politics for selfish gains. Politics is delaying the construction of Ram temple,” Bhagwat alleged.
Meanwhile, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party believe in totalitarianism, ANI reported. “Do it, who is stopping RSS and their government?” Owaisi asked, referring to Bhagwat’s plea to the Centre to bring in legislation for the Ram temple. “It’s a clear example of a nation converted into totalitarianism. RSS and BJP believe in totalitarianism. They don’t believe in pluralism or rule of law.”
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