Kerala CM lashes out at BJP, RSS for violence during hartal

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: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Thursday lashed out at BJP and RSS, accusing them of unleashing violence during the hartal over the Sabarimala women's entry issue, saying it was a 'conspiracy for political gains' and would be dealt with strongly.

Two women in their 40s had defied threats from saffron outfits and offered prayers at the temple early on January 2.

The Chief Minister said that the two women who visited Sabarimala early Wednesday morning were not airdropped, but went as normal devotees.

"The women were given protection after they sought security to visit the shrine. They were not airdropped. They visited the shrine like normal devotees. None of the devotees protested," Vijayan told reporters here.

He also said that devotees at the temple never had any issue with women visiting the shrine and all the violence that started hours after their visit was a "conspiracy for political gain by the RSS".

The Chief Minister also said that observing a hartal in the name of women's entry into the shrine was like calling a hartal against the Supreme Court order.

Coming down heavily on the chief priest's action of closing the shrine for a purification ceremony, Vijayan said that this was against the Supreme Court order.

"Such things are to be decided by the Devaswom Board. The action was not only a violation of the Supreme Court verdict, but also against the rules of the Board," he added.

Vijayan laughed off the casteist remarks made against him by various BJP party members and leaders, including state vice-president M Sivarajan and said they had been doing it for a long time.

"They keep reminding me of my caste. They tell me that I belong to a particular caste.

In the Chaturvarnya system, a person belonging to a particular community should do only a particular job.

I have said this many times. My father was a toddy tapper. My brothers were also doing the same.

They (BJP) expect me to follow my family's footsteps. But times have changed," Vijayan said, adding that "a new era has come and they will have to understand it."