Bengaluru: Kerala’s controversial Sabarimala temple opened on Monday amidst heavy police cover in view of protests against women entry. One woman, Anju from Alappuzha district, reached the temple seeking entry but, as of 7pm, remained undecided as discussions continue with the police.
Anju, who has come with her family, is facing stiff resistance from about 8000 devotees who flocked up the hill on Monday, many of them charged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to rally for protests to prevent women from entering the temple. The temple’s age-old ban on women entry was overruled by Supreme Court in a recent verdict, which made it a center of protests from conservative Hindu outfits including BJP. The temple will remain open until Tuesday night.
In view of the charged climate, the police effectively turned the temple into a fortress. Around 3000 police personnel were deployed near the temple. Entry to devotees was restricted to the base camp, 20km away from the temple, until noon, giving rise to protest demonstrations. The police allowed devotees from noon onwards.
A police officer privy to the talks told Mint, requesting not to be named, that they were told to take these precautions to avoid the formation of a huge protesting crowd near the temple, and to restrict entry to right-wing trouble-makers. The police also put in place mobile jammers, including one in front of head priest Kandararu Rajeevaru’s office, and restricted media access near the temple, local media reports said.
The day also saw a furore kicking up in Kerala over BJP state head Sreedharan Pillai’s comments made in an internal party meet on Sunday. Pillai said Sabarimala “is a golden opportunity” for the party, in a video surfaced from the meet that has gone viral on the internet, underpinning that the party wants to politically capitalise the temple issue. He also said that the head priest— who had shut down the sanctorum as a woman tried to enter the temple in the midst protests last month— was acting on his behest. Sreedharan Pillai was unavailable for a comment.
Kerala’s ruling Left Front and main opposition Congress pounced upon the BJP using the video. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPM, Kerala head, alleged it “exposes” the party’s political opportunism on Sabarimala.
“The odious politics and perfidious ways of BJP stand exposed. Evidence has surfaced that BJP leaders in the State connived to create trouble in Sabarimala. It must be noted that their State president himself was involved in the ruse. This is highly condemnable,” tweeted left leader and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.