THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three weeks after the Supreme Court direction to allow right of worship for women of all ages at Sabarimala Dharma Sastha temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) which manages most of the Hindu temples in south Kerala decided to approach the Supreme Court again. The meeting of the board held here on Friday decided to consult counsel Manu Abhishek Singhvi and file a statement immediately.When asked whether the board would be filing a review petition, president A Padmakumar said 25 review petitions are pending before the SC. “A decision on whether to file a review petition or file another application before the Supreme Court should be decided only after consulting our counsel. The board is already a party to all review petitions,’’ said the board president. The decision in the board meeting is to file a detailed statement explaining the issues it had faced while implementing the court verdict.“TDB is under pressure on implementing the SC verdict. Now the Centre has also urged the state government to provide security for implementing the verdict. Several incidents have occurred in Sabarimala while trying to implement the order. There has been some attempt to politicize the issue. All these issues will be brought before the Supreme Court,” said Padmakumar.The board, which had initially planned to file a review petition in the SC changed its stand after the state government decided not to challenge the verdict. Padmakumar, a former CPM MLA, had been publicly criticised by CM Pinarayi Vijayan for announcing board’s plan for a review petition. Friday’s decision to approach the SC, even while not preferring for a review petition, is a sign that the government is trying to find a solution for the issue which has been developing into a serious law and order issue. The CPM which has taken an open stand for allowing entry of women of all ages to Sabarimala is now not averse to the plan of TDB, the custodian of Hindu temples, taking legal recourse for upholding the interest of believers.

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