CM Pinnarayi Vijayan said 'deliberate' efforts were being made to destroy the state's unity and secular fabric.
The famous Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, opened for the annual Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, is all set to receive more pilgrims now with the Kerala government deciding to allow more devotees for darshan by adhering to Covid-19 protocols.
The injured have been admitted to Sannidhanam hospital, Pathnamthitta Collector R Girija said. She said there was a "small stampede" between Sannidhanam and Malikapuram and about 20 persons were injured.
The figure assumes significance as the Sabarimala temple had witnessed frenzied devotees opposing the entry of women belonging to the menstrual-age in the wake of landmark Supreme Court verdict permitting women of all ages to offer prayers at the hill shrine.
The apex court said banning entry of women to Kerala's Sabrimala temple is gender discrimination and the practice violates rights of Hindu women.
Sabarimala temple authorities decided to regulate presence of women of menstrual age in and around River Pampa during the aarattu (ritualistic bath) ceremony on March 23.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, however, told reporters that no one would be allowed to block devotees from proceeding to Sabarimala.
The two dauntless women -- Kanakadurga and Bindu -- aged 44 and 42, stepped into the hallowed precincts guarded by police three months after the Supreme Court's historic judgment
'We will meet each villager in Kerala and chalk out a massive agitation plan to protect the Sabarimala temple.'
Pandalam Royal family member Sasikumar Varma, one of the petitioners, said he was happy with the apex court's decision to review the September 28 verdict.
Police had earlier said it was verifying the background of the woman, said to be in her late 30s, and a decision regarding her trekking would be taken on Sunday morning.
Accepting the report of the Food Safety Commissioner, that appam at Sabarimala was unfit for human consumption, the Kerala high court on Tuesday observed there was lack of proper management in the affairs of the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
Amid heated debate on whether Makara jyoti of Lord Ayyappa shrine is celestial or manmade, the chief priest of Sabarimala temple on Sunday said the controversy was generated only to divert attention from the tragedy that killed 102 devotees.
The devotees, including senior citizens and children, protested against the entry of women of menstrual age group into the hill shrine.
801 cases have been registered in connection with violent protests which were witnessed during the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by pro-Hindu outfits on Thursday, police said, adding that 717 people are now in preventive custody.
This was also part of the right to privacy of the deity, the lawyer said.
Four years after her controversial claim of touching Lord Ayyappa's idol in the Sabarimala temple triggered a raging storm, Kerala Police has decided to file a charge sheet against Kannada actress Jaimala, who said she would take legal recourse to uphold her 'innocence'.
The Sabarimala hill shrine has received a record revenue of Rs 178.53 crore in 2012-13, Kerala Devaswom (temple affairs) Minister V S Sivakumar told the Assembly today. Though the exact number of pilgrims who visited the Lord Ayyappa temple this year are not available, it is generally estimated that about three crore devotees offer worship at the shrine in a year, the minister said in a written reply.
The BJP/Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and right wing outfits have made it clear that they would not allow any woman in the 10-50 age group to offer prayers at the shrine, where the deity is 'Naishtika Brahmachari' (perennial celibate).
In the backdrop of the Pulmedu tragedy, which claimed lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims, the Kerala high court on Thursday asked the Tranvacore Devaswom Board that manages the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa, if 'Makara Jyoti' (celestial light) was man-made.
A local court has returned the chargesheet filed by police against Kannada actress Jayamala and two others on the ground that it was lacking required documents in the case relating to her claim that she once visited the Sabarimala temple and touched the idol of Lord Ayyappa, defying the custom of the hill temple.
Sabarimala Karma Samithi on Tuesday organised a protest march to the Palarivattom BSNL office, seeking her expulsion.
The saffron party will use Lord Ayyappa the same way it made use of Lord Ram in the north to take away the Nair vote and make electoral inroads in the state.
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed women of all ages in the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala. While Justices R F Nariman and D Y Chandrachud concurred with Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar on the ruling that banning the entry of women in the temple is gender discrimination and the practice violates the rights of Hindu women, Justice Indu Malhotra gave a dissenting verdict. Here are highlights of her judgment.
The Kerala police on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against Kannada film actress Jayamala and two others in the case relating to her claim that she had touched the idol of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala temple in her prime youth in violation of the hill shrine's custom, which bars entry for women that fall in the ten to 50 age bracket.
The temple, which opened for the monthly puja on Friday evening, will allow pilgrims to offer prayers till October 21.
The board will decide future action in a meeting soon.
But the 'tantri family' will accept it, Sabarimala head priest Kandararu Rajeevarau said.
In conversation with Jayamala, the first woman president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
The Kerala government on Friday decided to order a police inquiry into Kannada actress Jayamala's claim that she had entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.
The women devotees were surrounded by a large number of protesters after they crossed the base camp to begin the trek towards the hill shrine.
"All the review petitions along with all pending applications will be heard in open court on 22nd January, 2019, before the appropriate Bench. We make it clear that there is no stay of the judgment and order of this Court dated 28th September, 2018 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2006 (Indian Young Lawyers Association & Ors. vs. The State of Kerala & Ors)," the order said.
The family members of Thantri Kantararu Maheswararu said, "Such a thing can never happen because even the Brahmin priests of the temple cannot enter the hallowed place and touch the deity."
The five-judge Constitution bench said that it is the devotion which makes a woman to visit a temple.
The group will not just seek permission for women to offer prayers in the mosques, but also fight for appointing them as 'imams' (clerics).
'Had their blood fallen on the floor of the temple, that would have forced the priests to shut the shrine for three days for purification rituals'
A recommendation had been made for the appointment of a total of 62 priests, including 26 from forward caste, it said
The apex court's observation came when senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for a woman devotee, Bindu Ammini, alleged violation of the 2018 verdict and said her client was attacked for her bid to enter the shrine.
After a review meeting held at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate to assess the situation, Rajan and state health minister Veena George said at a press conference that it has been decided to open the Kakki dam to release around 100-200 cumex water which would increase the water level of Pampa river by around 15 centimetres.
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