Won’t file review petition against Sabarimala verdict; will make arrangement for women: Kerala CM

Agencies
October 3, 2018

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 3: The Kerala government Wednesday made it clear it has no plan to file a review petition against the Supreme Court order allowing women of all age groups into the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the hill shrine, has also not taken any decision to go for any review in this regard, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.

The TDB president had stated that the Board may examine the possibility of filing the review petition, while the opposition Congress and BJP had asked the government to do the same holding that traditions and belief of the temple have to be protected. Terming the recent developments connected with Sabarimala a ‘serious’ matter, Vijayan said as a government, it has to abide by directives of the top court and make necessary arrangements for women devotees visiting the shrine.

“It is the responsibility of the government to implement the court order without any compromise. We will ensure to make necessary arrangements for the women devotees in the upcoming season itself,” he said.

He also took exception to TDB president A Padmakumar’s recent remark that they were not expecting large number of women devotees at the shrine in the wake of the court order.

The Sabarimala Temple had restricted the entry of women belonging to the age group between 10-50 due as part of its age-old tradition. On October 28, a five-judge constitution bench headed by the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra lifted the ban on entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.

With regard to the protest launched by various outfits against implementing the court verdict, the Chief Minister said no one has the right to prevent women devotees if they want to go to the shrine and offer worship.

“When the Supreme Court has taken a stand after considering all aspects on the matter, people have to accept the law of the land. The government is for implementing it,” he added.

Hundreds of Ayyappa devotees, including women, Tuesday had blocked state and national highways in various parts of Kerala protesting the Supreme Court verdict.

BJP state President S Sreedharan Pillai had said the party plans to launch state-wide agitations to protect the interest of Sabarimala devotees. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had urged the TDB to file a review petition and also asked the government to arrive at a consensus on the issue.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: With 6,566 more coronavirus cases and 194 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 1,58,333 on Thursday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.

The number of active coronavirus cases stands at 86,110, while 67,692 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. The death toll due to the infection has reached 4,531 in the country.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state with 56,948 cases. Tamil Nadu has recorded as many as 18,545 cases while Gujarat and Delhi have recorded 15,195 and 15,257 coronavirus cases respectively.

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Agencies
March 8,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 8: Five more people from

Kerala have tested positive for coronavirus, Health minister, K K Shailaja said on Sunday.

All the five hail from Pathnamthitta district.

While three of them had returned from Italy on February 29, two others were their relatives, the minister said.

All the five have been isolated in Pathnamathitta general hospital and are under observation.

Their tests were confirmed on Saturday night.

Earlier, India's first three positive cases had been reported from the state.

All the three patients, medical students from Wuhan, have been treated and discharged from hospitals.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Panaji, Feb 9: Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Rev Filipe Neri Ferrao, has urged the central government to "immediately and unconditionally revoke the Citizenship Amendment Act" and stop quashing the "right to dissent".

He also appealed to the government not to implement the proposed countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

Diocesan Centre for Social Communications Media, a wing of the Goa Church, in a statement on Saturday said, "The Archbishop and the Catholic community of Goa would like to appeal to the government to listen to the voice of millions in India, to stop quashing the right to dissent and, above all, to immediately and unconditionally revoke the CAA and desist from implementing the NRC and the NPR."

The CAA, NRC and NPR are "divisive and discriminatory" and will certainly have a "negative and damaging effect" on a multi-cultural democracy like ours, the church said.

There is serious concern that NRC and NPR will result in "direct victimisation of the underprivileged classes, particularly Dalits, adivasis, migrant labourers, nomadic communities and the countless undocumented people who, after having been recognised as worthy citizens and voters for more than 70 years, will suddenly run the risk of becoming stateless and candidates for detention camps," it said.

There has been widespread discontent and open protests throughout the country and even abroad against the CAA, NRC and NPR, which are "forecasting a systematic erosion of values, principles and rights" that have been guaranteed to all citizens in the Constitution, the release said.

Eminent citizens, including top intellectuals and legal luminaries, have taken a studied and unequivocal stand against the CAA, NRC and NPR, it noted.

Goa also witnessed several protests, which transcended the confines of religious and caste affiliation and brought people from all walks of life together on one united platform, said the statement.

It said Christians in India have always been a peace-loving community and deeply committed to the ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, enshrined in the Constitution.

"We have always taken great pride that our beloved country is a secular, sovereign, socialist, pluralistic and democratic republic," the church said.

The very fact that CAA uses religion goes against the secular fabric of the country, it said. "It goes against the spirit and heritage of our land which, since times immemorial, has been a welcoming home to

all, founded on the belief that the whole world is one big family," the church said.

"We pray for our beloved country, that good sense, justice and peace prevail in the hearts and minds of all," it added.

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