The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lodged a protest after party general secretary K Surendran was on Saturday detained and barred from entering the Sabarimala temple. The BJP leader has been sent to 14 days judicial custody and has been charged with non-bailable offences.
Protesting against the action against the party leader, BJP questioned if it was a crime to be associated with the party.
"Kerala cops arrest and manhandle BJP state General Secretary K Surendran, Thrissur District President and six others. Their Irumudi, sacred offering to Lord Ayyappa, smashed in the scuffle. Is being an office bearer of the BJP and a Ayyappa devotee crime?," BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted.
Kerala cops arrest and manhandle BJP state General Secretary K Surendran, Thrissur District President and six others. Their Irumudi, sacred offering to Lord Ayyappa, smashed in the scuffle. Is being an office bearer of the BJP and a Ayyappa devotee crime? #SaveSabarimalaTradition pic.twitter.com/zlYO8gZBZg
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 18, 2018
Reacting to Surendran detention, BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai had also said the police action against Surendran has created an "extremely dangerous" situation. He said he has informed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the "seriousness" of the situation.
The party has been voicing their anger over the detainment of the BJP leader by blocking traffic on the highways in Kerala.
Surendran and his supporters were barred from entering the shrine and taken away in a jeep by the heavy police force deployed there. The police reportedly stopped him from entering anticipating a law and order situation in the area.
After Surendran was taken into custody, BJP activists were seen chanting Ayyappa mantras in front of the Chittar police station in Pathanamthitta district where he was detained. In Thiruvananthapuram too, BJP workers took out a march to the Secretariat and blocked traffic protesting the police action against Surendran. Police had to use water cannons to disperse the agitating crowd.
The temple had opened on Friday evening for the two-month-long annual pilgrimage season as a stand-off continued over the entry of menstrual age women into the shrine.
All regular pujas began this morning under the new Melshanti (chief priest) Vasudevan Namboodiri's supervision.
Pilgrims, including children, queued up in large numbers since the temple opened at 3 am.
Police are maintaining strict vigil in and around the temple complex and are using drones to monitor the movement of pilgrims at Nilackal, the base camp.
