‘Save Sabarimala’ Protests Reach Zenith Two Days Before The Temple Opens After The Apex Court Ruling

Less than two days before the Sabarimala Temple will be open for devotees, thousands of BJP workers chanting mantras of Lord Ayyappa and waving flags, staged protests at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, reports The Tribune.

In the aftermath of the Kerala government’s refusal to file a review petition and its undue resolve in implementing the SC ruling, a large number of workers including a majority of women devotees virtually took over the streets in the city, staging protests against the Communist government in state.

The protest march, which began on 10 October at Pandalam, reached its zenith at the capital city, where BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao berated Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the government’s decision against filing a review petition.

“Not only in Kerala, but Lord Ayyappa devotees across the country are broken by the Sabarimala crisis, and the state government is responsible for it,” he was quoted as saying.

The Kerala BJP Chief, PS Sreedharan Pillai, had earlier issued an ultimatum of 24 hours to the state government to resolve the issue.” 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,” he said.

The temple administrator, Travancore Devaswom Board, has softened its stance on the issue and is reported to hold a meeting with the head priest’s family, Pandalam royals and Ayyappa Seva Sangam, a day before the doors of the shrine open for the first time after the SC verdict.

However, Industries Minister EP Jayarajan slammed the RSS and the Congress for allegedly trying to incite religious sentiments over the issue.