BJP Kerala unit chief PS Sreedharan Pillai on Thursday said the party will raise the Sabarimala issue over women’s entry and the alleged harassment suffered by the Lord Ayyappa devotees during the campaign in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
If the law permits the Centre to intervene in the matter, the BJP would take all possible steps to bring a new legislation to protect the temple’s customs and traditions, the leader said in a statement here.
“Each BJP candidate has the right to raise the issue of assault on Lord Ayyappa devotees in Sabarimala and the attempts to destroy their faith during the campaign in a peaceful manner,” he said. Pillai’s statement came hours after his reported remarks that the BJP will not use Sabarimala as campaign issue in the LS polls triggered a controversy.
A section of the media reported that his statement was contradictory to the stand taken by K Surendran, the BJP-NDA’s candidate in Pathanamthitta (where the Sabarimala temple is located), who had made it clear that the Sabarimala row would be one of the major campaign issues.
“I have never said anywhere that Sabarimala issue would not be raised during our election campaigns. The NDA candidate in Pathanamthitta and the party cadre there have every right to raise the issue during campaigns in accordance with the law,” he said.