Thiruvananthapuram: BJP leader K Surendran on Wednesday criticised Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for facilitating the entry of two women of menstruating age into Sabarimala.

Surendran took to Facebook and said  that this was an undignified act and only cowards would indulge in acts such as forcing women into the Sabarimala temple against a core belief of the devotees of Lord Ayyappa, the reigning deity of the shrine.

 

Surendran said that only people with mental illnesses would draw satisfaction and happiness from the sinister act of making women of the forbidden age sneak into the Sabarimala shrine through the back door under the cover of the night.

Earlier on Tuesday, the state government had organised a 'Women's Wall' in support of the Supreme Court verdict. Ironically, many Muslim women, evident from their burqas, were seen in the human chain, which was led by the rank and file of the ruling CPI(M) including, most prominently, Brinda Karat, the wife of former party general secretary Prakash Karat. Incidentally, the communists profess atheism, implying that neither they nor the Muslim women in the 'wall' could have been Ayyappa devotees who were an aggrieved party for not being allowed into Sabarimala!

The BJP leader further stated, "Even when I disagreed with you, I had some respect for you. Now, I only pity you. I feel ashamed when I think of you, Pinarayi Vijayan… History will always ridicule you.”

Addressing the media, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had expressed satisfaction over the act, which, according to him, met with no protest or demonstration unlike the previous attempts of a similar nature.

Ever since the news of the clandestine entry of two women spread across Kerala and the rest of the country, widespread protests have broken out in Kochi, Kottarakara, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. BJP Mahila Morcha members are protesting at the secretariat in the state capital against the entry of Kanakadurga and Bindu into Sannidhanam.

Many Ayyappa devotees are protesting on the streets of Kerala by chanting Ayyappa slogans against the two women who entered the Sabarimala temple on Wednesday. This incident has earned the CPI(M)-led LDF government the ire of Ayyappa devotees. They are furious about the wanton violation of the temple tradition that was made hundreds of years ago.

The two women, who entered Sabarimala on Wednesday, were identified as Bindu from Kozhikode and Kanakadurga from Malappuram.

Earlier, on December 24, Bindu and Kanakadurga had attempted to visit the shrine for the first time, but were taken back by the police due to security issues. Now, the duo claim that they had their darshan of the Lord on Wednesday at 3.30 AM.