CM Vijayan responsible for turning Kerala into clash zone: BJP

With the state of Kerala witnessing violent protests over Sabarimala Temple issue every other day, BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of converting the state into a "clash zone".

Lekhi also claimed that the transgenders who recently attempted to climb the hill shrine were women and sent by the Chief Minister.

"If there is one person who has converted it into a clash zone, it is Vijayan. He also took women, under the guise of transgenders to Sabarimala at 1 o'clock. If they were real devotees of Lord Ayyappa then they should have attempted to enter the shrine in the early morning," she told ANI.

Protests triggered in several parts of the state on Wednesday after two women of menstruating age- Bindu and Kanakadurga- entered the hilltop shrine.

Several organisations also called a state-wide shutdown of shops and other establishments on Thursday to protest against the women entry into the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

On September 28 last year, the Supreme Court had lifted the traditional ban on the entry of women of child-bearing age into the temple.