Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday threw in his lot with the Tantri of the Sabarimala temple who had come under sharp criticism from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for closing the shrine for purification rituals following the controversial entry of two women to the sanctum early on Wednesday.

Mr. Chennithala told reporters that the Chief Minister had no business interfering in matters of faith. The Tantri was the final arbitrator in religious rituals in Sabarimala.

“Mr. Vijayan should not threaten the Tantri like he intimidates IAS and IPS offices. Crores of devotees have backed the Tantri’s decision to close the temple after 16 select policemen from Kannur district escorted two women 'activists' to the shrine,” Mr. Chennithala said,

Kanaka Durga, a Civil Supplies Department worker, was a member of the CITU, he said.

The officers, who wore their affiliation to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on their sleeve, had, at the behest of the Chief Minister, rapidly and secretively spirited the women to the sanctum under cover of darkness. The women were in a police safe house since devotees thwarted their attempt to trek to the temple on December 24.

Mr. Vijayan had used them as pawns in his dubious gambit to create social chaos for short-term political advantage, he claimed.

Mr. Chennithala’s expression of support for closing the Sabarimala temple came shortly after Mr. Vijayan censured the Tantri for acting in contempt of the Supreme Court order on September 28 allowing women of all ages to worship at the shrine. The Chief Minister had urged the Tantri to quit if he disagreed with the SC verdict. Tantri Kantararu Rajeevaru had drawn support and Opposition in almost equal measure for his action. The Nair Service Society (NSS) had thanked him for closing the temple in the face of a blatant violation of custom. However, the CPM and organisations such as the Malaya Araya Samajam, a collective of tribes which claim to be the original overlords of Sabarimala, have criticised him for practising a “version of untouchability”.

Mr. Chenithala questioned the media's claim that 55 lakh people had participated in the wall of women sponsored by the Left Democratic Front on New Year's day. He said, if true, it would have extended till Mumbai or New Delhi. He pegged the number of participants at 15 lakhs and said social media had highlighted scores of glaring gaps in the wall.

Mr. Chennithala also castigated the few IAS and IPS officers who had participated in the programme. He said civil servants should desist from engaging in partisan political activity and accused Mr. Vijayan of having press-ganged them into the wall to promote his agenda.