62 bishops, 12 Islamic scholars with us: Pillai

Thiruvananthapuram: The state leadership of the BJP on Tuesday launched the second phase of its agitation against entry of women of all age groups to Sabarimala temple, with party state president P S Sreedharan Pillai terming it as a fight between “believers” and “atheists” and predicting a thumping victory for the former.
Pillai, who led a protest near the police headquarters to condemn the mass arrest of “Ayyappa devotees”, also said that chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, “with the way he is handling the Sabarimala issue”, will soon become the liquidator of the CPM in the state.

“The ‘Rath Yatra’ planned on November 8 has the blessings of hundreds of sanyasis, 62 Christian bishops and 12 Islamic scholars. We cannot be stopped and the believers will trounce the ‘atheists’ led by the CPM,” Pillai said

BJP MLA O Rajagopal, inaugurating the protest, said that the CM’s actions, including “the arrest of innocent devotees”, would only help BJP gain ground in the state.

The protest also witnessed participation of CPM leader M M Lawrence’s grandson Milan, a Plus Two student, who was introduced by Pillai as the first one from families of the CPM leaders to join the agitation. “In fact, his mother (Lawrence’s daughter) wanted to come to the protest venue. But being a government employee, it could affect her job,” Pillai said. “One shouldn’t be surprised even if Pinarayi’s daughter joins us one day,” he added.

Milan told reporters that he came on his own. Replying in positive to a query whether he would want to enter politics, Milan, however, said he was yet to decide on the party he wanted to join. Terming Milan’s action unfortunate, Lawrence said his grandson was not under his control.

Meanwhile, ‘Ayyappa Dharma Sena’ president Rahul Easwar said in a statement released at a news conference in Kochi on Tuesday that he, along with his grandmother Devaki Antharjanam, would visit the Sabarimala temple when it opens on November 5.

Rahul, who is out on bail in the case related to a provocative statement on the Sabarimala issue, did not speak during the news conference, citing bail conditions.

He also said that the recent #MeToo allegation against him was a radical feminist conspiracy to degrade the sanctity of the Sabarimala temple.