Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged on Wednesday that the Sangh parivar had plotted a larger conspiracy to turn Sabarimala into “another Ayodhya” by using genuine devotees as pawns.
“They (the Sangh) are trying to convert Sabarimala into another Ayodhya. But the state government is doing its best to prevent any such attempt,” Vijayan told the Assembly.
He alleged that the Sangh parivar protesters who had conspired to break the law in the name of protecting traditions were actually trying to whip up communal sentiments.
“The government will not sit quiet if anyone tries to take the law into his or her hands,” Vijayan cautioned.
“The law and order situation faced a major challenge. They (the protesters) stopped vehicles carrying genuine devotees and even attacked women journalists,” the chief minister said, citing this as the reason for the tight security and prohibitory orders in and around the Sabarimala temple for the ongoing pilgrimage season.
The BJP and the Congress have backed protests that erupted after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on the entry of women of childbearing age to the hill shrine to Lord Ayyappan.
BJP leaders had claimed that the party had homed in on a potential “Ayodhya of the south” after Amit Shah urged cadres to keep the issue alive and Kerala unit chief Sreedharan Pillai dubbed the Sabarimala trouble a “golden opportunity”.
Vijayan said the curbs put in place to prevent protests would continue as long as there was any possibility of violence.
“The restrictions are basically to allow genuine devotees to peacefully complete their pilgrimage. Police have not stopped real devotees, but only prevented these groups (Sangh parivar activists) from staging protests at ‘Nadapandal’, which is the heart of the Sannidhanam (the last stretch before the temple),” the chief minister said.
Kerala High Court recently ordered the government to lift all the restrictions. But with intelligence inputs pointing to more trouble, the police did not want too much relaxation.
At the moment, no private vehicles are allowed beyond the Nilakkal base camp, 23km downhill from the Sabarimala temple. Initially, no devotee was being allowed to camp for the night around the hilltop temple, but the curbs have been eased a bit.
Guest rooms have been thrown open to pilgrims who are also allowed to sleep in some areas around the Sannidhanam.
Vijayan slammed the BJP and the Congress for changing their stand on the entry of women of childbearing age to the temple.
“All of them had initially supported the entry of all women,” he said.
Vijayan minced no words in attacking the Congress for taking a stand similar to that of the BJP.
“The Congress and the BJP are staging this agitation together. The Congress basically fell for the lies perpetrated by the BJP,” he said.
The CPM politburo member laughed off the Congress’s allegation that his party and the BJP had arrived at an “adjustment” over Sabarimala.
“Wasn’t there a man in Delhi when Babri Masjid was demolished? That was adjustment,” Vijayan said, alluding to then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao who had been widely accused of turning a blind eye when RSS kar sevaks brought down the mosque in 1992.