THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday justified the police action, stating that Sangh Parivar leaders were on a concerted move to create tension at the hill shrine.At a press briefing here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister alleged the Sangh Parivar, in a deliberate bid to take control of the shrine, was planning to create tension at Sannidhanam. “Those who turned out under the garb of devotees were RSS leaders. Many of them have criminal cases pending against them, and had come with a plan to create issues,” he said.
Pinarayi also read out the names of some of those who were taken into custody: Rajesh R, PV Sajeev, R Kannan, Vishnu Suresh, Ambady and AV Biju. All of them are office-bearers of Sangh Parivar organisations. Pinarayi said the action came after the police exercised restraint for a long time. “Usually, once the temple is closed for the day after Harivarasanam, nobody will be there. However, they stayed back to create troubles,” he said.
Asked whether the police played into the hands of the Sangh Parivar, Pinarayi said the police had no other option but to arrest them. “These people took the forest path, not the normal route, to reach the Sannidhanam. Once they were in Sannidhanam, they were trying to create issues. The police had no other way,” he said.
Pinarayi came down heavily on the BJP for its circular assigning leaders to take up agitations in Sabarimala. “As per the circular, state leaders should take part in the operation from November 18 to December 15. They did not come in accordance with the temple customs. It’s evident that they wanted to create issues. The circular has exposed the real designs of the BJP,” he said.
Pinarayi unleashed a scathing attack on Sangh Parivar for its design to defame the temple. “They want to turn the temple into a conflict zone. There are no restrictions for chanting at Sabarimala. Also, the genuine devotees will not face any difficulties,” he said. In an apparent dig at BJP leader K Surendran, Pinarayi said one of the leaders deliberately threw down his ‘Irumudikettu’. “Usually devotees show some respect towards the ‘Irumudikettu’. However, here, one leader throws it down,” said Pinarayi.
‘Govt has done everything possible to ensure facilities’
T’Puram: Refuting charges that the government failed to ensure necessary facilities for Sabarimala pilgrims at Pampa, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said his government has done everything humanly possible to address the issue. The government has done all possible steps to ensure adequate facilities at Pampa and Nilakkal. Reconstruction work to the tune of I25 crore have been carried out at Pampa to restore the facilities after the floods. Six meetings were held to discuss the issue. Currently, the pilgrim centre at Nilakkal can accommodate 9,000 pilgrims at a time. The best available construction companies have been entrusted with the rebuilding task, Pinarayi said, referring to Tata being given charge of the work.