THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has said that minister Kadakampally Surendran was deceiving the devotees by expressing regret over the incidents that took place in Sabarimala over the women entry issue. Lashing out at the state government, Chennithala asked if the Chief Minister would publicly say that his stand was wrong and that he was saddened by it.

"CM was the one who said there was nothing wrong with the stand on the Sabarimala issue. So Pinarayi Vijayan should publicly admit his mistake and apologise to the devotees. Can the CM guarantee that women will not be allowed to enter Sabarimala? Apart from that, there is no point in the minister casually saying that everyone is sad over the issue. The state government is yet to withdraw the amended affidavit in the Supreme Court. Doing so will solve the problem," Chennithala said.