KANNUR: Sending out a stern warning to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the Sabarimala issue, BJP national president Amit Shah on Saturday said if the LDF Government continued to suppress Ayyappa devotees, BJP workers would pull the government down.
"I've come here to warn Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. If you don't stop this (suppressing devotees), BJP workers will raze this government down. Your government won't last for long," Shah said amid huge applause from the audience.
"The state government is trying to suppress the agitation using power and intimidating Ayyappa devotees by slapping non-bailable offence on them. If it continues to do so, then the entire BJP workers in the country will line up behind the devotees in their attempt to protect the temple," Shah said while inaugurating the BJP district office in Kannur.
"It's heard the Chief Minister is going to appoint around 1,500 DYFI workers in the temple to deal with the devotees. Such acts will prove counter-productive. The government's hastiness in implementing the court order is not justifiable. The mothers and sisters of the devotees had come forward to protest against the verdict. The courts also should think twice before announcing their verdicts on sensitive issues, especially in connection with religious institutes," he said.
It is not fair to suppress an agitation in the name of Supreme Court verdict. Many governments in the past and present have kept in abeyance some court verdicts as that would have led to communal unrest in society.
Now, since the government has gone all-out against the believers, there's an Emergency-like situation in Kerala, said Shah.
Continuing with their crackdown on those who unleashed violence while protesting in and around Sabarimala and elsewhere during the five-day Thulam pooja against the Supreme Court verdict, Kerala police have so far arrested 2,825 persons and registered 495 cases.
Police officers said almost half those arrested have been released on bail and the rest have been remanded to judicial custody. Majority of those booked were taken into custody on charges of destruction of public property. Charges like rioting, attacking people and deterring public servants from discharging their duty have also been also invoked.
Meanwhile, the police decision to arrest protesters including women who took part in the prayer processions on charges of disrupting the traffic has courted controversy. To avoid further dispute, the DGP is reported to have directed the police to let them off on bail. The DGP has also instructed police to arrest only those who were directly involved in violence. It is learnt that the DGP has given a direction to complete arrest proceedings before the proposed high-level meeting of the police officers. High-level police officers said the police have already identified those who took part in the violence with the help of CCTV footages. A search is still on to nab the accused. Those who destroyed public property including KSRTC buses will have to pay a sum ranging from `10,000 to `13 lakh to get bail.
Shah: Dangerous to destabilise a prevailing custom at Sabarimala
Kannur: It is dangerous to destabilise a prevailing custom in a temple. The haste shown by the government in implementing the court order was absent while dealing with the floods that ravaged the state recently. Since the government has gone against the will of the majority of the Hindu community, it has lost its right to continue in power in the state, said Shah. It doesn’t have time for development projects, but has enough time to beat up the devotees, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had allotted many projects, including an IIT and industrial projects at Kanjikode, but the government failed to acquire land for the same. BJP district president P Sathyaprakash presided over the function. BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai, H Raja, Nalin Kumar Katteel MP, V Muralidharan MP, O Rajagopal MLA and others were present. Earlier, Shah was given a rousing welcome at the Kannur airport by the BJP workers as he was the first passenger to land there.
BJP, SNDP will jointly fight against state govt: Amit Shah
T’Puram: BJP national president Amit Shah has said that the BJP and the SNDP will join together to fight against the state government, which has taken a position against the devotees in the Sabarimala issue. He said that the contribution of Sree Narayana Guru in the educational and social development of the state cannot be forgotten. He was speaking at a function in Sivagiri after inaugurating the Mahamandala Pooja Sammelam of Sreenarayana Guru Mahasamadhi Navathi celebrations. The BJP leader said that the Guru had interpreted even the Upanishads in simple language so that ordinary people could use them. Rabindranath Tagore has once said that even though he had met several Sanyasis, he has never met one like Sree Narayana Guru.
Police force can’t suppress issue: Pillai
T’Puram: BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai has said the Sabarimala issue cannot be suppressed by using police force and lathi charge. He said the government was trying to use police force to cover up its failure on the issue. In a release issued here on Saturday, Pillai said the government was looking to impose false cases on devotees. So much so the atrocities committed by the police are being thrust on devotees.