Union minister and BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan, who reached Nilakkal—the base camp of Sabarimala—on Wednesday, tried to create a stir by entering into an altercation with SP Yathish Chandra.
Flaying the authorities over lack of facilities for the pilgrims, the Union minister asked the senior cop if why private vehicles were not being allowed to go to Pamba from Nilakkal. However, the senior cop explained that KSRTC buses were taking pilgrims to Pamba, and if private vehicles, too, ply through the region it would lead to traffic blocks.
Further, Yathish Chandra asked whether the Union minister himself would take responsibility in case of a traffic snag, to which Radhakrishnan had to reply in the negative. Following this, BJP general secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan, who had accompanied the minister, asked the cop on why he was questioning the minister without doing his duties.
The SP replied that if the Union minister was to give orders, he would allow private vehicles to pass through. However, the Union minister said he did not have the authority to do so.
Read: Centre's Sabarimala options: President's rule and more
Pon Radhakrishnan's visit comes a day after party president Amit Shah accused the Kerala government of treating pilgrims as 'Gulag inmates'. Gulag was a system of forced labour camps established during Joseph Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union.
Shah on Tuesday slammed the CPI(M)-led government's handling of the situation as 'disappointing' and accused it of making pilgrims spend nights next to 'pig droppings'.
In a series of tweets, Shah said, "If several reports of flushing resting places for devotees and them having to spend nights next to pig droppings and dustbin are true, then Pinarayi Vijayan must realise that he can't treat Ayyappa devotees like inmates of Gulag. We won't let LDF crush people's faith with impunity."
also read
- ‘Devotees visit temples to see god, not faces of CM, MLAs’: Kerala HC raps Travancore Devaswom
- Sabarimala: A tale of flickering light in the woods
- 'No uncontrolled situation', says Kerala CM amid severe criticism over 'crowd mismanagement'
- Why Kerala HC barred production, sale of 'Aravana Prasadam' at Sabarimala
Shah's comments underlined his party's support to devotees protesting against the Kerala government's move to implement the apex court order that allowed the entry of women of all groups to the temple.
CM hits back
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lashed out at the BJP and right-wing outfits, accusing them of exploiting the Sabarimala issue for their 'political gains' and trying to 'capture' and take control of the hilltop shrine.
In hard-hitting remarks, he alleged that the Sangh Parivar's agenda was to create trouble by sending 'karsevaks' to take control of the temple and make the pilgrims 'scapegoats'.
The chief minister also referred to a BJP circular through which, he said, it had planned to deploy its cadre in an organised manner at Sabarimala to ensure that no young woman would enter the shrine on the strength of the September 28 court verdict. "As per the circular of the BJP, they would be sending the 'karsevaks' with a hidden agenda to capture and take control of Sabarimala," Vijayan alleged.
He also pointed to statements reportedly made by BJP state chief P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, including that the Sabarimala issue was an 'opportunity for the Sangh Parivar' and the saffron party and their agitation was 'not against women's entry' but against the Communist party. "Pillai has made it clear earlier itself that Sabairmala issue was a good opportunity for the Sangh Parivar," the chief minister said.
Alleging that the Sangh Parivar has a 'doctorate in peddling fake news', he said it has unleashed 'fake campaign' against Kerala, to malign its image.