Thiruvananthapuram | Amid intense political campaigning ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Tuesday raised the Sabarimala women entry issue to attack the Kerala government and challenged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to make his stand clear on the matter.

Venugopal sharply criticised the Left regime in the state for its alleged "evasive stand" in the Supreme Court on the issue of the entry of women of menstruating age into the hill shrine.

Referring to a recent conference of the Kerala Pulayar Mahasabha in Kochi, he questioned why neither the chief minister, who inaugurated the event, nor Minister K Rajan, who spoke at the function, clarified their position when KPMS state general secretary Punnala Sreekumar reiterated his support for women's entry.

In a statement, the Congress leader also mentioned Vijayan's recent public apology to superstar Mammootty over a row connected to the Wayanad township project.

Venugopal asked why the chief minister apologised when a prominent actor was hurt, but did not tender an apology for allegedly hurting temple traditions and believers' sentiments.

He further alleged that cases filed against Sabarimala devotees, registered as part of their protests against the entry of young women years ago, have not been withdrawn, and no compensation has been provided for the hardships they faced.

Referring to the affidavits filed in 2007 by the then V S Achuthanandan government and in 2016 by the Pinarayi Vijayan government, the Congress leader said the LDF had made no change from its earlier position supporting women's entry.

He accused the state government of now "playing hide and seek" by suggesting that the Supreme Court should decide the matter after consulting religious scholars, without clearly stating its stand.

Venugopal also pointed out that the government had argued that the state legislature could enact a law on the issue, but had failed to take a firm position before the apex court on whether it supported women's entry or not.

Reiterating the Congress stand, he said the party does not support the entry of women of menstruating age into the hill temple and that shrine customs should not be linked with women's freedom.

He challenged the chief minister to take a clear "yes or no" stand on the issue, saying the people of the state expect a direct response.

If there is no clear reply, the people's court will judge those who disregard traditions and those who had "plundered" the gold of Lord Ayyappa, Venugopal added.