The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to stage a show of strength at Sabarimala in the coming days by taking its stalwarts, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, there in the wake of the controversial arrest of its State leader K. Surendran on Saturday.
Union Minister K.J. Alphons will be visiting Sabarimala on Monday as a prelude to the series of visits planned by the party to the temple, according to reliable party sources.
Pon Radhakrishnan, Union Minister of State, will reach Sabarimala on Wednesday.
The BJP State president, P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, has called upon the Centre to intervene in the Sabarimala issue on a war footing.
Mr. Pillai has accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Left Democratic Front government of harassing the Ayyappa devotes by introducing an unprecedented police raj at Sabarimala, Pampa and Nilackal.
Sabotage
The BJP president alleged that the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, was trying to sabotage the Sabarimala pilgrimage against the backdrop of the Supreme Court verdict permitting women of all age groups to the temple.
He alleged that the government had made conscious attempts to keep the apex court in the dark about certain key facts behind the denial of entry of women in the child-bearing age group to Sabarimala.
A senior BJP State leader said that the party national unit was planning to send at least two BJP MPs to Sabarimala on a daily basis to take stock of the situation there.
Certain Union Ministers are also planning to visit K. Surendran at the Kottarakkara sub-jail this week.