Before Sabarimala opens, big protest

TNS & Agencies

New Delhi/ Trivandrum, Oct 15

Less than 48 hours before the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala will be open to women of all age groups as per a Supreme Court verdict, the BJP on Monday ramped up protests over the ruling.

Chanting mantras of Lord Ayyappa and waving party flags in Thiruvananthapuram, BJP activists, including women and children, protested the Left government’s decision to implement the SC order without considering devotees’ sentiments. They laid a virtual siege to the state secretariat in a show of strength against the government which has said it would enforce the SC order and not go for a review.

Addressing the gathering outside the secretariat, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao, who led a protest march (began on October 10) from Pandalam, assailed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the government’s decision against filing a review petition. “Lord Ayyappa devotees not only in Kerala but across the country are disturbed by the recent developments. The state government is responsible for the crisis,” he said.

“We give him (the CM) 24 hours to resolve the issue. If he fails to do it, then he should be prepared to see a different type of protest from us. We will make it very clear that we are not trying to make political capital through this campaign,” Kerala BJP president PS Sreedharan Pillai said. The BJP alleged the attempt to implement the judgment was a “conspiracy” to destroy the shrine, where lakhs of people from the country and abroad visit during the three-month pilgrim season beginning mid-November. The shrine will open to public on October 17 for the five-day monthly puja.

Enforcing the SC order allowing girls and women between 10 and 50 years of age into the shrine could be a daunting task for the government with several religious outfits threatening protests and demanding that the sanctity of the temple rituals be protected. Meanwhile, Industries Minister EP Jayarajan accused the ‘Sangh Parivar’ and the Congress of trying to incite violence over the issue.