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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader K Annamalai, on Monday, September 22, criticised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for hosting the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, accusing him of political grandstanding and hypocrisy. He accused Pinarayi of possessing “lust, anger, and greed,” the three traits that take humans to hell according to the Bhagavad Gita.
The Global Ayyappa Sangamam held on Saturday, September 20, by the Travancore Devaswom Board as part of its platinum jubilee, drew around 3,500 delegates, including international Ayyappa devotees. The summit was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the banks of the Pampa in Sabarimala. Both the Congress and the BJP boycotted the event, terming it politically motivated, though Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath sent greetings.
At a counter-gathering held in Pandalam on Monday, Annamalai declared, “All Ayyappa devotees have come together to show that if they touch Ayyappa, we won’t let them go. This should reflect in the upcoming elections.”
He said Vijayan had no right to quote scriptures after the state’s stand during the 2018-19 Sabarimala temple controversy, when devotees were blocked from protesting the entry of women of menstruating age into the shrine. Quoting Thirukkural, Annamalai added, “The king who gives himself up to oppression and acts unjustly towards his subjects is more cruel than a murderer.”
The BJP leader also alleged that Vijayan harbours anger towards the Brahmin community, saying, “Pinarayi is angry with the Brahmin community. He should come out of Brahminphobia.”
He also targeted the two Tamil Nadu Ministers who attended the summit, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) and PK Sekar Babu. “Their leader is Periyar. On September 1, 1943, Periyar said communism is nothing but a sugar-coated poison pill. Today, at this communist summit, two Ministers from that party whose leader is Periyar came here for political purposes.”
Periyar reportedly made the comment in Trichy, while talking about the political rivalry between communists and the Justice Party in Tamil Nadu.
“All the talks on communism in our country are bogus. Our youths must keep away from such talks. What is the work they do? Their eyes are always on the leaders of the Justice Party. Their work is to criticise the Muslims and rich people. They are not worried about the evil casteism or reactionary propaganda of Gandhi. They are not worried about Rajaji, who wants only the Brahmins to live happily. They are not worried about the Congress party that upholds the Varnasrama Dharma. They are not worried about khadhi being symbolic of a barbarous age. The communists are dominated by the evil forces cited above. So I appeal to the youth to be aware of these communists. Communism here, as it is, is a sugar coated poisonous pill. Beware!”
Annamalai also recalled the controversy surrounding Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who in September 2023 likened Sanatana Dharma to diseases such as dengue and malaria. Udhayanidhi, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, said Sanatana Dharma should be “eradicated” in the same way as deadly viruses. The comment triggered a nationwide uproar, with BJP leaders accusing him of insulting Hindu faith and traditions. Udhayanidhi, however, defended his remarks, saying they were aimed at opposing caste-based discrimination and not religion itself.
Turning to Kerala, Annamalai pointed out that several leaders from the ruling Left Democratic Front had previously questioned Hindu beliefs. In July 2023, Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer drew criticism for remarks at a school event where he said myths like Ganesha’s elephant head and the Pushpaka Vimana were being promoted in place of science, prompting strong protests from the BJP and Hindu groups. Former state finance minister Thomas Isaac had earlier described the Vamana avatar from Hindu mythology as a “myth”, while senior CPI(M) leader EP Jayarajan dismissed the legend of Parasurama creating Kerala with his axe as fiction.
These statements, Annamalai argued, showed that the same leaders who once “mocked Hindu traditions” were now using religious platforms like the Global Ayyappa Sangamam for political gain.
He also said Pinarayi and Stalin were scamsters, saying, “Just like Scam 1992 shook the country, today India faces two scams—one is Stalin and the other is Pinarayi.”
The 1992 securities scam, often referred to as Scam 1992, was a massive stock market fraud led by broker Harshad Mehta, who manipulated banking loopholes to artificially inflate share prices.
Annamalai concluded his speech by saying, “If you truly want to do something for Lord Ayyappa, first withdraw the affidavit your government filed before the Supreme Court.”