Even as protests over Sabarimala continue in Kerala, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh when asked about his stand put the onus on the state government. In an interview to Economic Times, Rajnath Singh said, “Sentiments of some people are hurt over this matter. Yesterday (Saturday), I had a conversation with the Kerala governor. What can we say as it is a Supreme Court judgement? Whatever has to be done in this matter has to be done by the state.”
The response of the Home Minister comes at a time when the BJP and other political groups are staging protests across the state over the LDF government’s decision to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict in September.
Rajnath Singh’s statement comes at a time when the BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai made a sensational statement saying that the protest is not against the entry of women into Sabarimala but against Communists.
BJP and other right-wing organisations have intensified its protest and the government has resorted to heavy deployment of police at Sannidhanam. On Monday, Union Minister of State for Tourism KJ Alphons visited Pamba, one of the base camps of the temple.
Alphons said that his visit was to oversee the arrangements. Pon Radhakrishnan is arriving to visit the shrine at the weekend.
BJP Chief Amit Shah is likely to visit the temple at the end of November.
During his visit to the state in October, he had said that the BJP cadre will ‘destroy’ the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government if it arrested more devotees who protested against women’s entry into Sabarimala.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan responded to Amit Shah accusing the BJP and RSS of polarising the issue and even painting the officers in a communal way, by valorising IG Sreejith and slinging mud on IG Manoj Abraham, both of whom were involved in ensuring the security for women in Sabarimala.