SABARIMALA: Congress leaders Adoor Prakash and V S Sivakumar alleged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was sabotaging Sabarimala temple and its practices by using the police force.
After offering prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple here as part of reviewing the preparations for the annual pilgrimage at Nilakkal and Pampa on Sunday, the Congress leaders said Pinarayi was using the police to deny the constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of worship and follow ongoing practices.
They alleged the government has failed to provide facilities, including potable water, free food and toilets, to pilgrims at Nilakkal and Pampa, even three months after the floods. They said the Pinarayi Government was using the police to cover up its failures in providing basic facilities to the pilgrims.
HC intervention to be sought
Adoor Prakash and Sivakumar said the Congress would file a petition before the High Court seeking its intervention into the police action denying the centuries-old practices of ‘neyyabhishekam’ and ‘sayanaprathikshanam’ at the Lord Ayyappa temple.
They urged the Special Commissioner to file a report before the High Court on the matter.
The Travancore Devaswom Board had failed to bring to the notice of the government the police intervention to deny the rights of the pilgrims, they said. The unprecedented security measures and control on the flow of pilgrims at Nilakkal and Pampa affected the smooth pilgrimage and the temple revenue.