Sabarimala row: Yechury and VS Sunil condemn protests against entry of women

Kerala Minister VS Sunil and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury have strongly condemned the protests opposing entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple.

Alleging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to make it a law and order issue, Kerala minister VK Sunil told ANI: "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP are taking double standards. On the one hand, five advocates associated with the BJP gave a petition in the Supreme Court over entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala temple. On the other hand, BJP is leading a fight against the verdict, and now they are trying to make it as a law and order issue."

On Wednesday morning, Congress party leaders had organised a peaceful protest in Nilakkal against the entry of women into the temple. Over 50 people, including former Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan, were taken into custody in Nilakkal and Pamba, both Sabarimala base camps for protesting against women's entry into the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

Yechury lashed out at the Congress for staging a protest. He told ANI, "This is most unfortunate. Sadly, Congress' local unit has also joined the protest whereas the Congress in the centre (Delhi) had welcomed the judgement of the Supreme Court. This has exposed their duplicity."

Further sharpening his attack, he alleged that the BJP and RSS are deliberately arousing passions for electoral gain. He added, "If at all BJP and RSS are against the verdict, the only way available to circumvent the verdict is through a legislative procedure in Parliament. If they are really serious to circumvent the verdict then this is the route. Why are they not taking that route? This is clearly a game of communal polarisation."

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy told ANI that he strongly endorsed women's entry into Kerala's Sabarimala temple. He further asserted that it is wrong to go against the Supreme Court's verdict. The apex court had allowed the entry of women of menstruating age inside the temple premises.