Kerala High Court has questioned the intent behind a senior BJP leader’s plea to visit the Sabarimala temple by Monday, days ahead of the scheduled end of the current pilgrim season, and not wait till when the shrine opens again next month.
K. Surendran, the BJP’s state general secretary, had recently sought the court’s permission to complete his pilgrimage that had been “disrupted” following his arrest for disturbing peace in the area.
Surendran even informed the court that he has been following all the rituals for the pilgrimage and had filled the “irumudikkettu” — the bundle of puja essentials that all devotees carry on their heads to the temple.
But the court, which took up the plea on Friday and is set to rule on it on Monday, asked why Surendran couldn’t wait till the monthly rituals after the pilgrim season ends on January 20.
The hilltop shrine — sucked into an unseemly controversy since the Supreme Court last year scrapped age restrictions on women of childbearing age, triggering protests by Sangh parivar activists — is set to close after the Makara Jyothi on January 14 after a nearly two-month-long pilgrim season.
While there wouldn’t be any major rush of pilgrims after the Makara Jyothi, the temple would close on the morning of January 20 after some rituals.
It would then open again for five days for the first monthly ritual of the calendar year on February 12.
The state government has objected to the BJP leader’s plea. Its counsel argued that Surendran’s plea was a “deliberate attempt to destroy peace” at the temple and said he should not be permitted till the current season ends.
Police had arrested Surendran on November 17 at Nilakkal, the base camp about 24km from Sabarimala, for an attempted attack on a 52-year-old woman on the temple premises earlier that month.
The state police had also brought up some earlier cases against Surendran for blocking trains and conducting a BJP march without police permission. The leader had ended up spending 23 days in jail before being granted bail on the condition that he would not enter Pathanamthitta district where the temple is located.
More than 300 policemen stood guard at the Pandalam palace where the holy ornaments (thiruvabharanam) of the deity were handed over to temple authorities early on Saturday.
A ritualistic parade carrying the ornaments that would adorn the idol of the deity, Ayyappan, on Makara Sankranti has also been provided heavy armed security following some concerns.
The erstwhile Pandalam palace, that once ran the Sabarimala temple and remains the custodian of the ornaments, had allegedly received threats that the box laden with the jewellery wouldn’t return this time.
A senior member of the Pandalam family, Sasikumara Varma, told reporters he had informed the police about the threats. “There were some concerns about the security for the thiruvabharanam. So we had informed the police about our fears,” he said, citing the reason for such a massive security.
