Sabarimala LIVE: Everyone Seems to Have Their Own Agenda, Says Kerala High Court Amid Protests

The Kerala government has imposed Section 144 in a place where people live peacefully. What was the need to impose Section 144 at Sabarimala? Besides, the Centre had provided Rs 100 crore for putting up various facilities at Sabarimala. But they have not spent even a rupee: KJ Alphons

Sabarimala Pilgrims Being Treated Like Dacoits | The Union minister KJ Alphons also visited Nilakkal, the base camp, Pamba and Sannidhanam on Monday morning, hours after police removed around 200-odd people who had gathered at the Sabarimala temple complex late on Sunday night. Taking stock of the various facilities at the hill shrine, the minister said, "The state government has turned the temple complex into a war zone. The devotees are not militants, they are pilgrims and they are being treated like dacoits". 

'RSS Camping to Create Trouble' | Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made it clear that the Left government was with the believers.  At a function in Kozhikode, he said those arrested were not Ayyappa devotees. "They were not Ayyappa devotees. RSS workers were camping at Sannidhanam with a motive to create trouble. The government cannot let anyone create trouble at Sabarimala," Vijayan said at the state conference of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ).

QUICK RECAP | Activists of the BJP, Yuva Morcha and other right-wing outfits on Monday stepped up protests across Kerala against the late night police crackdown at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala and the subsequent detention of 68 people. On the second day of the two-month long pilgrim season, the police asked the protestors to disperse. When they refused, the security forces took 68 of them into custody early on Monday morning, the first such incident witnessed at Sabarimala.

Kerala High Court on Sabarimala | In view of the ongoing turbulence at the Lord Ayyappa shrine surrounding the entry of women of all ages,  the Kerala High Court on Monday said, 'Everyone seems to have their own agendas in Sabarimala.' This comes after fresh protests erupted over the detention of around 70 devotees near Sannidhanam. 

Gross Human Rights Violation in Sabarimala | Pilgrims had earlier said that there was a lack of adequate toilet facilities, causing immense difficulties especially for women, and rest rooms after the floods in August that had destroyed the infrastructure. The Kerala Human Rights Commission had found out that due to a lack of functional toilets in Sabarimala, devotees have littered the Pamba river where human faces are often seen flowing.

The Travancore Devaswom Board manages the Sabarimala hill shrine. The Board has cited a lack of basic amenities among other things as the reason for seeking more time from the top court to implement its order allowing women of all ages to enter the Lord Ayyappa shrine. The announcement on the TDB's move came amid mounting tension against the backdrop of the stand-off over entry of women in the 10-50 age group, traditionally barred at the shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, a celibate.

TDB Seeks More Time | The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) filed application in the Supreme Court seeking more time to implement its judgment on the Sabarimala temple. 

Kerala HC Questions Presence of "Excess Police" |  Presence: The Kerala High Court has pulled up the Kerala government for the excessive presence of police at Sabarimala and has directed Advocate General to appear before the court at 13:45 today.  “Place of police in Sabarimala is in Baracks, they shouldn't harass pilgrims,” the High court observed.

 Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala Monday attacked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the police action against Lord Ayyappa devotees at Sabarimala Sannidhanam and asked if Kerala was under the rule of Hitler.The senior Congress leader alleged the government was trying to "brand" Ayyappa devotees as Sangh Parivar activists and thus helping RSS recruit people to its fold. "It is police high-handedness. Innocent devotees who sought shelter at Valiya Nadappandhal (covered pathway) were also arrested. They all are not Sangh Parivar activists who reached there to create trouble. Is Kerala under the rule of Hitler (Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler)," Chennithala told reporters here.

According to Hindustan Times, KP Sasikala has reached Sabarimala temple. Union Minister KJ Alphons is on his way to the temple top. Meanwhile, two Yuva Morcha workers were detained for waving black flags at Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Earlier, the BJP and RSS had gathered outside the CM’s residence to protest against the mass detention of devotees at temple top.

Police sources told PTI that 68 persons had been taken into preventive custody from the temple complex and brought to the Manniyar camp early this morning.Their details are being verified and their arrests have not been recorded yet. Alphons, who arrived at Nilackal, the base camp, Monday morning, told reporters, "The state government has turned the temple complex into a war zone. The devotees are not militants, they are pilgrims."

Union Minister K J Alphons Monday slammed the Kerala government for turning the Sabarimala Temple complex into a "war zone" and lack of facilities at the shrine even as police detained 68 people from the complex in the early hours for holding protests. Protests are being held across Kerala against the detention of the 68 persons even as the BJP demanded a judicial probe into the police action.

Devotees Not Terrorists, Says Alphons | Union Minister KJ Alphons, who is currently on his way to Sabarimala, deemed the situation at the temple town to be "worse than emergency." He further said that the Section 144 is imposed for "no reason," as the devotees are not terrorists. 

A situation worse than emergency is happening here, the devotees are not allowed to go up. Section 144 is imposed for no reason. Devotees are not terrorists, why do they need 15000 policemen here? : KJ Alphons MoS Tourism on #SabarimalaTemple issue pic.twitter.com/sOHaC3dAXP

— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2018

The Kerala unit of the BJP observed a protest on Sunday by blocking highways across the state following the arrest and the subsequent remand of senior party leader K. Surendran. He and his party have been up in arms against the Vijayan government, which according to them, is determined to see that a woman in the hitherto "banned" age group is allowed 'darshan' at the temple and they have vowed that the temple traditions will not be breached. The BJP and the Sangh Parivar forces have decided to strengthen their presence in and around the temple town and have asked its cadres to arrive as pilgrims.

The temple town of Sabarimala has witnessed protests by Hindu groups since the September 28 when the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter the temple that hitherto banned girls and women aged between 10 and 50. The apex court last week refused to stay its earlier verdict. The temple opened its doors at 5 p.m. on Friday for two months and according to new police rules that came into effect from Friday, no pilgrim is allowed to proceed to the temple after 7 p.m. as the temple closes for the day at 10 p.m.

The bureaucrat-turned-politician's visit comes at a time when the Kerala unit of the BJP observed Sunday as a protest day by blocking highways across the state following the arrest and remand of its senior leader K. Surendran. Alphons said the arrest was "totally unwarranted and undemocratic". "The Kerala government should show restraint in handling the Sabarimala issue and it should not be forgotten that a government is elected only for five years and not for a life time," he noted in his Facebook page.

K J Alphons to Visit Sabarimala | Union Minister of IT K.J. Alphons is on his way to visit the temple town of Sabarimala to study the facilities meant for the pilgrims."I had visited the temple town two months back and found out that it was in a pretty bad shape due to the floods. I had suggested that a lot of things had to be done to make it fit for a smooth pilgrimage," he told the news agency IANS. He added he had come to find out that the facilities were not up to the mark.

Kerala: Visuals of devotees protesting at Nadapanthal area in Sannidhanam last night. They were protesting as the police did not allow them to stay overnight at Nadapanthal. They were later detained by police. #SabarimalaTemple pic.twitter.com/hbcau9xy8r

— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2018

Superintendent of Police (special officer) Pratheesh Kumar said people were detained for violating Section 144 that prohibits assembly of more than four people at a spot."Section 144 had been declared in the area. We had asked them to disperse after the Harivarasanam but most of them refused," the SP said, adding that the police was not against the devotees who wished to offer prayers. "Those who have to offer 'neyyabhishekam' (anointing deity with ghee) can stay back. They can recite prayers also. We are not against it. The police will assist those who want to offer prayers," he said.

On the second day of the two month-long pilgrimage season, the devotees had gathered at the covered pathway to the temple when they were asked to leave Sannidhanam. Due to the early incidents of violence at the hill-top shrine, the police had imposed strict restrictions for devotees at Sannidhanam, including not allowing them to stay back at night.

The protesters were taken into preventive custody Sunday night at the Sabarimala Temple after fresh protests broke out at Nadapanthal area in Sannidhanam where hundreds of devotees agitated against the police restrictions. Even though there were unconfirmed reports that the detained protesters were taken to Maniyar police camp in Pathanamthitta district, officials at Pamba Police Station, which is around 3.5 km downhill, denied any knowledge.

To further intensify their stir against "police high handedness", a daylong state-wide agitation will be held on Monday by Yuvamorcha, the youth wing of the BJP, its chief said. "We have organised state-wide protest against this emergency like situation in the state," Yuvamorcha state president Prakash Babu told PTI.

Protests Erupt Over Detention of 70 Devotees | Fresh protests, meanwhile, have erupted over the detention of around 70 devotees near Sannidhanam. A large number of BJP and RSS workers protested outside the official residence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan late on Sunday. The members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had gathered in front of Cliff House — Vijayan's official residence  at Nanthancode in Thiruvananthapuram. Simultaneous protests were also held at various places across the state in Aranmula, Kochi, Kollam, Alapuzha, Ranni, Thodupuzha, Kaladi, Malappuram and Idukki among others.

The temple and surrounding areas have come under unprecedented security for the season which draws lakhs of devotees to offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa. The Supreme Court is slated to hear petitions seeking review of its September 28 order in January, but has refused to stay it.

TDB To Move Supreme Court | The Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the Sabarimala shrine, will move the Supreme Court on Monday seeking more time to implement its order allowing women of menstrual age to offer prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple. Advocate Chandra Uday Singh will be representing the board, TDB President A Padmakumar has said.