KOZHIKODE: BJP president P S Sreedharan Pillai on Saturday said the party would explore legal options against restrictions imposed by the state government on devotees in Sabarimala citing security reasons.
“The government says Ayyappa devotees on vehicles should obtain pass from the police station. This amounts to declaring the devotees as criminals who need clean chit from the police. This is illegal and against their basic rights. We will explore legal options and move ahead,” Pillai said.
The BJP president said the chief minister and Devaswom Minister’s acts of suppressing Ayyappa devotees were worse than the excesses committed during the days of Emergency. He claimed the Sabarimala Protection Rath Yatra had received the people’s ‘mandate’ and the party was firm on going ahead with it as a democratic form of protest against the government’s suppressive acts.
Pillai accused the CPM and the Congress of joining hands to target BJP leaders, especially its state president, by foisting false cases against them. “Both parties are trying to portray the BJP president as a villain before the people,” he said.
Referring to the ‘golden opportunity’ reference in his controversial speech, Pillai said the same term has been used by the CPM mouthpiece ‘People’s Democracy’ while referring to the Sabarimala issue.
However, that has not evoked any controversy, he added. Pillai said he, as an advocate, had offered legal assistance to both Congress and CPM on many crucial cases. However, both parties have forgotten such episodes, he added.
“Many people believe that our agitation is against the court verdict. Let me clarify, our agitation is against the state government and atheists who are out to wreck the Sabarimala shrine,” he added.Asked about the possibility of his arrest owing to a non-bailable case registered against him, Pillai said he was not afraid of it.“Even if I am arrested, the yatra will reach its destination and fulfil its objective,” he added. However, he parried queries on party leader M T Ramesh’s statement daring the police to arrest him in connection with the speech.