Awaiting guidelines for re-opening places of worship: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that he has held detailed discussions, via video conferencing, with heads of various religious organisations with regards to the Centre''s decision on reopening places of places of worship but they are awaiting the detailed guidelines.

"The Centre has already said places of worship can be opened from Monday, but the guidelines and directions are yet to come. I spoke to religious heads of Hindus, Christians and Muslims. I appreciated the steps that they took to follow the guidelines when directions were given to close down all places of worship. I have said to them that once the new guidelines of the Centre come, they should take appropriate steps in that regard," he said.

"All of them have agreed to the fact that given the present situation when Covid-19 is spreading, there have to be some sort of restrictions. There has to be caution with regards to the participation of the elderly in places of worships, as if this does not happen, it could lead to more serious issues. The religious heads have agreed to cooperate with the state government to strictly follow the guidelines, when these are announced," Vijayan added.