Thiruvananthapuram, October 16: As the Sabarimala temple is scheduled to open tomorrow for the female devotees, the shrine's top priest will reportedly skip the morning puja as a mark of protest. Sources close to the Tantri (head priest) has confirmed that he is upset with the government not challenging the Supreme Court's decision, and will remain absent from the early morning ritual to protest the stand taken by Pinarayi Vijayan government.

Earlier on Tuesday, the round of talks held between the Tantri, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), Pandalam Royal Family and the government representatives fall apart as the temple stakeholders were unwilling to allow women devotees to enter the hilltop shrine. Sabarimala Row: Women Devotees Being Dragged Out of Public Buses, Stopped at Nilakkal.

On the contrary, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was simultaneously chairing a Cabinet meeting in the state capital, said his government would implement the apex court's order.

"We will not allow any one take law and order in their hands. The government will ensure facilities to devotees to go to Sabarimala Temple and offer prayers. Government will not submit a review petition. We’ve said in court that we’ll implement the order," he was reported as saying by news agency ANI.

Sasikumar Verma, member of the erstwhile Pandalam Royal Family, said he had walked out of the meeting as his concerns were not being acknowledged by the government representatives.

While the Royal family wants the TDB to immediately file a review petition, the Board said it would take a decision on October 19. "We’re upset that they’re unwilling to discuss it today," Verma had said after storming out of the meeting.

The imbroglio in Sabarimala was created following an apex court order dated September 28, when the then CJI Dipak Misra-led bench overturned the ban on women aged between 10-50 from entering the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2018 08:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).