With the Kerala government announcing on Wednesday it will not file a review petition on the Supreme Court verdict allowing women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has said the state should not have decided to implement the apex court’s Sabarimala ruling with immediate effect without taking the sentiments of devotees into consideration.

In a statement issued on the matter on Wednesday evening, the RSS said: “In the case of Sabarimala Devasthanam…it is an issue of a local temple tradition and faith to which sentiments of millions of devotees, including women, are attached. These sentiments of the devotees cannot be ignored while considering the judgement.”

The RSS called the government stand “unfortunate”.

“Unfortunately, the Kerala Government has taken steps to implement the judgement with immediate effect without taking the sentiments of the devotees into consideration. There is an obvious reaction to the same by the devotees, especially women, who are protesting against the forceful breaking of the tradition,” said the statement  issued by Sarkaryavah Suresh (Bhayya ji) Joshi.

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Stating that the Supreme Court judgment should be respected, the RSS called upon all stakeholders, including spiritual and community leaders, “to come together to analyse and address the issue availing judicial options also”. “They must convey their concerns on their right to worship in a manner which best suits their faith and devotion, to the authorities in a peaceful manner,” read the statement.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said his government would ensure facilities and protection to women devotees visiting the temple.

He said women police personnel from Kerala and neighboring states would be deployed to ensure law and order, adding that women wishing to go to Sabarimala could not be stopped.

In a landmark judgment on September 28, a five-judge constitution bench headed by the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra lifted the ban on entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.

Prior to the verdict, girls below the age of 10 and women over 50 were only permitted to enter the shrine.

Hundreds of Ayyappa devotees, including women, blocked state and national highways in various parts of Kerala on Tuesday, protesting against the Supreme Court verdict.