Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday sought a report from the Kerala Government over the prevailing situation in the State as protests took a violent turn in Kerala over the entry of two women in their forties into the Sabarimala temple. For its part, the BJP alleged that the violence around the Sabarimala temple in Kerala was unleashed in the State by the LDF Government, which, instead of dealing with it in a sensible way, wreaked havoc resulting in devotees being hurt and even killed.
The BJP also maintained that the Sabarimala issue was about Hindus and not about the ruling party.
BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao in a Press conference claimed that Kannur, from where Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hails, had become the “epicentre” of the violence and this revealed the State Government’s complicity in it.
Violence involving BJP-RSS and ruling CPM workers rocked politically volatile Kannur district in north Kerala on Saturday with a number of houses and shops of rival leaders and workers being attacked.
“All this has been done by the CPI(M) goons with the full authority and support of the state government. The CPI(M) has a history of unleashing violence against the RSS-BJP cadre, but today, they are not even sparing the devotees,” Rao alleged.
“The State Government is using the cadres of the DYFI, the SDPI and this is state-sponsored violence being unleashed. A devotee was killed two days ago and a bomb was hurled at the ancestral home of one of our MPs,” he said.
The BJP leader said the agitations at the Sabarimala temple were not political in nature, but peaceful protests to uphold the traditions of the shrine.
“This is an issue of devotees, not an issue of the BJP. This is an issue concerning the Hindu society,” Rao added.
He alleged that the Kerala Chief Minister himself was responsible for the violence in the State, where so far, over 1,700 people have been arrested.
“Pinarayi Vijayan’s conspiracy in this matter is clearly visible. We condemn the fact that he has politicised the issue and is using it for political gains,” he alleged.
Rao asked media to not see this issue from only a gender perspective. He said gender equality was an issue close to the BJP, however, this was a matter of tradition, culture, emotions and beliefs.
“Any Government trying to thrust any actions on the devotees will only have negative reactions. The Supreme Court is likely to hear review petitions and I appeal to the media to see it in its complete perspective and not to get swayed by the Leftist narrative. Their narrative is for their vote bank politics,” he said.
He also said the Sabarimala issue, the triple talaq case and the Ram Mandir issue were three separate issues and should not be seen from a similar perspective.