Nilakkal/Pamba: The arrest of Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP) state general secretary K Surendran after being detained at Nilakkal, the base camp for Sabarimala pilgrimage, triggered mounting concerns about the law and order situation in the state.
Party activists will block road traffic on National Highways on Sunday, the BJP said.
On Saturday night, police stopped Surendran at Nilakkal from proceeding to the Lord Ayyappa temple. He was then taken to the Chittar police station.
Right-wing Hindu activists started arriving at the station, stepping up the campaign against the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the hill shrine.
The BJP took out a march to the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram to protest the police action against Surendran and other leaders.
Woman turned away
Mary Sweety, a woman believed to be below 50, reached Chengannur seeking permission to go to Pamba. Sweety, who was turned away from Pamba during the recent Thulam pujas of Sabarimala temple, said this time she only wanted to go to Pamba, and not the hill shrine. However, she abandoned the plan following protest by Ayyappa devotees at Chengannur.
Sasikala gets bail
Hindu Aikya Vedi leader K P Sasikala, who was arrested en route to Sabarimala, was granted bail by a court in Thiruvalla on Saturday. The police had earlier said that she would be taken to Sabarimala, if the court was to grant bail. Sasikala, who takes rest at Koonankara Sabari Saranashram on Saturday night, would trek the Sabarimala hills on Sunday morning.
Sasikala was arrested at 1.30 am Saturday after being detained for nearly five hours at Marakkootam following her refusal to backtrack from proceeding to the hill shrine.
Achara Samrakshana Samithi state convenor Prithvipal and BJP leader P Sudhir were also taken into custody from Pamba. Sasikala was then taken to the Ranni police station, where she began a hunger strike.
Around 2000 Sabarimala Karma Samithi workers surrounded the police station at Ranni in Pathanamthitta, urging the police to take Sasikala back to Sabarimala and allow her to offer prayers. They also sought action against the officers who arrested her. Though several attempts were made to neutalise the situation, the workers and Sasikala stood firm on their decision to visit the temple. Finally, around Saturday afternoon, the police agreed to take her to court, putting an end to the standoff outside the police station.
Hartal
A dawn-to-dusk hartal called by Hindu Aikya Vedi to protest the arrest of its leader KP Sasikala has brought life to a standstill in Kerala. Even pilgrims' journey to Sabarimala was affected as public transport kept off the roads. The BJP has backed the call for hartal.
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) halted its bus services in the state following the hartal call. However, private vehicles are plying in many parts of the state. In state capital Thiruvananthapuram, road blockades by Hindu outfits have been reported in some areas.
The hartal affected pilgrims too. The number of pilgrims who reached Erumely on Saturday, the first day of Malayalam month of 'Vrischikom,' is far less compared to earlier years.
Security at Sabarimala
Thousands of pilgrims offered prayers at Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala early Saturday, the first day of Malayalam month of 'Vrischikom'. Pilgrims, including children, queued up in large numbers since the temple opened at 3 am.
The temple had opened Friday evening for the two-month annual pilgrim season as a stand-off continued over the entry of women of child-bearing age into the shrine. All regular pujas began this morning under the supervision of the new Melshanti (chief priest) Vasudevan Nampoothiri.
Unprecedented security arrangements have been made at the shrine.
The temple opened Friday amid a tense standoff involving social activist Trupti Desai in Kochi and a move by its administrator to seek time from the Supreme Court to implement its verdict.
Social activist and leader of the Bhumata Brigade Trupti Desai, who has vowed to offer prayers at the temple, returned to Pune at 9.25 pm on Friday after she was prevented from leaving the Kochi airport for over 14 hours since her arrival by devotees opposing entry of women of child-bearing age into the hill shrine.
The 41-day Mandalam festival will conclude on December 27 after Mandala pooja, when the shrine will close after the 'Athazhapuja' in the evening. It would reopen for the Makaravilakku festival on December 30.
The Makaravilakku festival would be celebrated on January 14 after which the shrine will close on January 20, marking the culmination of the pilgrim season, when laksh of devotees are expected to throng the shrine.
The temple complex and nearby areas had witnessed widespread protests after the state government decided to implement the September 28 apex court verdict.
The Supreme Court is slated to hear petitions seeking review of its September 28 order in January, but has refused to stay it. The Travancore Devaswom Board that manages the shrine would file the time-extension plea in Supreme Court on Monday.
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