This story is from April 14, 2019

Will try to give constitutional protection to beliefs: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday continued to try to corner his opponents over the contentious Sabarimala issue, amplifying his message that his government was committed to protecting the tradition which forbade the entry of women of menstrual age into the Kerala shrine devoted to Lord Ayyappa.
Will try to give constitutional protection to beliefs: PM Modi
PM Modi speaking at election rallies at Theni and Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. (Photo courtesy: PTI)
Key Highlights
  • PM Modi said Congress, Communists and Muslim League were playing a dangerous game regarding the Sabarimala temple ban issue in Kerala by using brute force to strike at the root of faith
  • PM Modi said that his government will try to give “constitutional protection to beliefs” so that Lord Ayyapa devotees would soon be able pray at the shrine
THENI/RAMANATHAPURAM (TN): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday continued to try to corner his opponents over the contentious Sabarimala issue, amplifying his message that his government was committed to protecting the tradition which forbade the entry of women of menstrual age into the Kerala shrine devoted to Lord Ayyappa.
Speaking at election rallies at Theni and Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu, Modi said Congress, Communists and Muslim League (IUML) were playing a dangerous game regarding the Sabarimala temple ban issue in Kerala by using brute force to strike at the root of faith.
“Sadly for them, till BJP is there, nobody will be able to destroy our faith and culture,” he said.
This was the second time that PM Modi publicly came out in support of the ban, lifted by the Supreme Court in September last year, on the entry of women in the 10-50 age group into the Sabarimala shrine, reiterating his message of respect for Hindu traditions.
Speaking in Kozhikode on Friday, he said that his government will try to give “constitutional protection to beliefs” so that devotees of Lord Ayyapa would soon be able to reclaim their traditions and pray at the shrine without any hindrance.
It was not clear whether PM Modi, who refrained from mentioning Sabarimala, was referring to a possible move to change the Constitution as he also said that the government would explain to the SC the age-old tradition and rituals of Kerala. “If UDF and LDF think that they can destroy tradition, they are mistaken,” he said.
He cast himself as a defiant supporter of tradition in the swing through the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, taking up the cause of the devotees of Sundaramahalingam, a shrine in a reserve forest on Madurai-Virudhunagar border in Tamil Nadu, who have been protesting against the holy spot being declared off-limits for them except during festival time.

The devotees of (Sathuragiri) Sundaramahalingam would also be facilitated to have peaceful darshan, PM Modi assured the crowd at Theni in Tamil Nadu. “We are working on this as well,” he said.
Significantly, at Ramanathapuram, which has a sizeable Muslim population, the PM sought to corner Congress on the triple talaq issue. He said Congress, DMK and IUML were opposed to the triple talaq bill as they did not believe in the dignity of women.
BJP has used the unrest among sections of Kerala to fuel its effort to end the domination of the state politics by CPM-led LDF and UDF which has Congress as the lead player. While Kerala government’s support for the SC order has come in handy, the saffron outfit has also sought to capitalise on the confusion in Congress ranks over the issue.
It has found an opening in Congress leadership’s initial support for the SC order. Though Congress chief Rahul Gandhi later modified his stand saying that he would defer to the views of the state unit favouring the tradition, the flip-flop is being highlighted by BJP to showcase itself as the sole custodian of a tradition which is revered by many in Kerala.
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