Devaswom Minister criticised despite finding Sabarimala issue cause of defeat

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM state committee has admitted that the party's stand on the Sabarimala issue was partly to blame for the massive defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Meantime, the statement of Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran related to the protection of rituals in Sabarimala was rejected. The state panel meet criticized the minister for publicly supporting the private bill which N K Premachandran Kollam MP tried to bring seeking ritual protection at Sabarimala. The leadership said what Kadakampally said was not party’s stand, the stance of the CPM and the LDF government is clear. The leadership reminded the minister not to make such statements which are misleading in the eyes of the public. This is not the first time the Devaswom minister's statements and actions are being corrected by the party.

Meantime, the meet assessed that Sabarimala issue is also one of the reasons for the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. The party found that the party failed to see the minds of the people on the issue. The Congress and the BJP were able to get a section of those who regularly voted for the CPM. Soon after the women’s wall, the allegation of opponents that two women were allowed to enter Sabarimala, was also one of the reasons for the poll defeat. It was also opined that the votes of those who participated in the mass struggles, including women's wall were not in favour of the party. The party's state committee also demanded that the organizational work be strengthened to counter the growth of the BJP.