The sporadic violence that Kerala witnessed in the wake of the 28 September Supreme Court verdict lifting the ban on the entry of women of child-bearing age in the Sabarimala temple could have been checked, if not averted totally, had the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which administers the temple, accepted the right-wing outfits’ demand for filing a review petition.

The board, which was initially in favour of such a legal recourse, changed its stand after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan indicted its president A Padma Kumar, a former legislator of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), on 2 October for deviating from the government’s line of implementing the verdict.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar, which initially welcomed the apex court verdict, viewed the TDB volte face as part of the LDF government’s agenda to destroy Sabarimala and unleashed their cadres in the hillock and across the state to prevent women from entering the temple, resulting in widespread violence.

With the TDB opposing the review petitions filed by different organisations and individuals during the hearing on Wednesday, the devotees are fearing another wave of violence when the temple opens for the monthly pooja on 12 February.

People like Prayar Gopalakrishnan, former president of TDB and one of the petitioners, said that he won’t be surprised if the devotees who opposed the entry of women in the temple turn their ire on the TDB. “They may not allow the TDB president and other members to enter temples under the board if they do not change their stand,” he told reporters in New Delhi.

Sabarimala Karma Samithi leader Rahul Easwar has described the volte face taken by the board on its stand as a betrayal of the devotees. “They will give a befitting reply to the TDB for not respecting their sentiments. The TDB was established to protect the interest of the devotees and the temples. However, it has cheated the devotees after taking their money,” Easwar said.

BJP leader PS Sreedharan Pillai has also aired the same view and warned that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government will have to pay the price for the betrayal. “This is the beginning of the end of the Communist Party in Kerala,” he added.

The pro-women entry stand taken by the government in the apex court is considered significant since senior lawyers believe it will influence the outcome of the review petitions. Supreme Court lawyer MR Abhilash said that the official stand will carry more weight when the constitution bench takes a decision on the review petitions.

However, Sasikumar Varma, president of the executive committee of Pandalam palace, former custodian of the temple, believes that this does not mean that the bench would not give due consideration to the points raised by the petitioners. “When the government and the TDB asserted that they were with the devotees, we hoped that they will take a neutral stand on the review petitions. By opposing the petitions, they have made it clear that they are not with the devotees. It is unfortunate that the TDB, which is bound to protect the customs and traditions in Sabarimala has taken a political stand,” he added.

Varma said that the palace and others opposing the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 in Sabarimala will explore other options if the Supreme Court turns down the review petitions. He said they might consider filing a curative petition in such a case.

The U-turn taken by the TDB has not come as a surprise to the devotees. The board, which opposed the petition originally filed by the Delhi-based Young Lawyers Association challenging the ban on the entry of menstruating women in Sabarimala, was under extreme pressure from the government and the party to toe their line.

Padma Kumar had justified the board’s decision to reject the devotees’ plea to file a review petition, saying that being a party to the petitions, it will get an opportunity to state its stand in the hearings. However, none of the devotees had expected that it will back the women’s entry in the temple when the petitions were taken up for hearing, especially after he asserted that the board would stand by the devotees.

The devotees feel that the board has made volte face due to the combined pressure from the government as well as the party. While the chief minister berated him for taking a stand in favour of filing a review petition, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan sought to correct him. The party chief said that Padma Kumar had failed in projecting the Communist viewpoints, forgetting the fact that he is an important functionary of the party.

Easwar is not ready to blame Padma Kumar. “I know him personally. Padma Kumar and his family are strong devotees of Lord Ayyaappa. He would not have taken such a stand if he was left alone. Sadly, the government has made him a tool in its hands. This will have far-reaching repercussion in the administration of the temples under the TDB,” he added.

The TDB stand has strengthened the allegation of those opposing the entry of menstruating women in the temple that the government is out to destroy the temple. Prayar Gopalakrishnan sees signs of desertion of Sabarimala by the devotees in the sharp decline in the revenue received by the TDB during the current season.

“When I headed the board, Sabarimala had earned a revenue of over Rs 680 crore. The total earning of the TDB during the current pilgrim season is less than Rs 130 crore. If the government and the TDB continue to support the violation of the customs and traditions in Sabarimala, more devotees will desert the hill shrine,” he added.

The stakeholders in Sabarimala were expecting a decision on the controversial issue before the temple opens for the five-day monthly pooja. With the Supreme Court granting seven days’ time to the petitioners to file their replies, many fear that hill shrine will turn into a conflict zone once again.