THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Sangh Parivar virtually took over the Sabarimala temple during the 24 hours it opened while the police were mere spectators, the Congress said on Wednesday.
The leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala told reporters Wednesday: "The government and police were an abject failure as BJP and RSS activists had the final say in the temple town till 10 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday) when the temple closed after a day.
"The police were mere spectators while these forces reigned supreme at the temple," he added.
The temple opened for a day at 5 p.m. on Monday and closed on Tuesday at 10 p.m.
The rightwing groups had made it clear that they would not allow the entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50 through the Supreme Court on September 28 had ruled that the shrine must be opened to women from all age groups.