A day after two women were blocked by protesters from entering the Sabarimala temple, KP Sasikala, the president of the Hindu Aikya Vedi is reported to have said that the protests may go out of control if the State Government does not stop the ‘drama’ of facilitating the entry of women of all ages to the temple.
According to a report by the Times of India (ToI), Sasikala, who is also the working president of the Sabarimala Karma Samithi is reported to have said that, “Ayyappa devotees are at their wits end. On Sunday and Monday, we had to struggle a lot to keep devotees and workers under control. We cannot give an assurance that we will be able to ensure peace every day. Day-by-day things are getting out of our hands. If this drama continues, the consequences are likely to be severe.”
Lashing out at the Pinarayi Vijayan LDF Government, Sasikala alleged that there is a strong connection between the government and the Maoists. She also said that many of the women who attempted to enter the temple on Sunday had several cases in their names and that the police were aware of it.
After a period of calm in Sabarimala, tensions had risen again on Sunday and Monday, when 11 women from Tamil Nadu’s Manithi organisation and 2 women from Kerala decided to enter the Sabarimala temple on these two days respectively.
On Sunday, the 11 women from Tamil Nadu had reached Pamba, amidst heavy protests. However, following eight long hours of massive protests and failed discussions with the police, the women decided to return.
On Monday, the two women - Bindu from Koilandy and Kanakadurga from Malappuram, along with heavy security managed to climb till Chandranandan road, which was just a kilometre away from the Sabarimala Sannidhanam but yet again, heavy protests forced the police to return with the two women.