Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala BJP general secretary K Surendran, who was sent to jail after he sought to make it to Sabarimala amid the ongoing turmoil, has gone against the hill-shrine's entry tradition, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said on Sunday.
The BJP leader came to Sabarimala within a year of his mother's death, defying the custom of bereaved families keeping away from temples till the first anniversary of the tragedy, the minister said. "It is such a person who is talking about the need to maintain conventions. He is doing it just in the name of politics," he added.
Surendran’s mother Kalyani, 90, died four-and-a-half months ago. Critics of the leader say he needed to wait till next July 5 to enter Sabarimala, but his supporters say the Ayyappa temple permits entry for pilgrims 41 days after bereavement.
The minister refuted allegations that the police roughed up K Surendran at the station. One needs to only see the CCTV videos in Chittar police station, he said. The claim is another of the BJP's efforts to drum up drama and seek votes ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections, the minister said, adding the BJP had nothing to do with any Hindu traditions and customs.
Rejecting Surendran’s charges that he was ill treated at the police station, the devaswom minister said that the police had provided all the facilities to the arrested leader.
“The circle inspector’s bench was arranged for Surendran to sleep, warm water was given to drink, food was provided and medicines supplied,” said the minister.
Minister releases video of Surendran dropping Irumudikettu twice
Responding to another allegation of Surendran, the minister said that the BJP leader had deliberately allowed the Irumudikettu he was carrying to fall on the ground. “The police did not trample the Irumudikettu as Surendran alleged. The visuals of the CCTV camera at the police station can be examined as proof,” said Kadakampally.
Kadakampally later released the visuals through a Facebook post and said that the Irumudikettu should not be used to score political points. “Irumedikettu is a sacred item. That the SP himself took the Irumudikettu from the floor after Surendran had dropped it twice is clear from the CCTV visuals. Later, the BJP leader appeared before the media in a shirt torn by himself and alleged that the police had manhandled him after throwing his Irumudikettu to the floor,” said the minister.
“Surendran had earlier posted on Facebook that women of all ages should be allowed to enter Sabarimala Temple and their fast should be confined to 15 days for the purpose. Moreover, he had tagged Rehana Fathima to the post,” pointed out Kadakampally.
Activist Rehna Fathima was among the two women who had reached the hilltop on October 19 but had to return before reaching the sanctum sanctorum following massive protests.
The BJP leader had earlier charged the government with taking revenge on him for fighting to protect the customs of the Sabarimala temple. He had also said that he was willing to go to jail and the police had tortured him. Refusal of the police to give permission to carry out his basic needs and to take his regular medicine were the other allegations K Surendran made before the media.
The 48-year-old K Surendran who hails from Ulliyeri in Kozhikode district had, with the customary Irumudikettu, sought to enter Sabarimala along with four fellow-travellers on Saturday. All the five were arrested, triggering protests from BJP workers on Sunday.
Roads blocked
BJP workers, including women, squatted on roads, blocking traffic at various places, including in state capital, Kochi, Thrissur, Palakkad and in front of Kottarakara sub-jail, where Surendran has been lodged, and also the northernmost Kasaragod district.
Addressing workers at Thiruvananthapuram, BJP leader M S Kumar said police had so far not succeeded in bringing even a single young woman to the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala after the Supreme Court on September 28 allowed women of all age groups to offer prayers at the shrine.
While the CPM-led LDF government's stand is that they were constitutionally bound to implement the court order, the main opposition Congress has said they are with the believers.
The BJP/RSS and right wing outfits have made it clear that they would not allow any woman in the 10-50 age group to offer prayers at the shrine.
Surendran and two others with him had been taken into preventive custody Saturday night and brought to the Chittar police station, about 50 km from Sabarimala, after they forcibly tried to leave for the hill shrine at Sabarimala.
Police had cited law and order issues and tense situation at the temple complex to deter him from going to Sabarimala. They were taken into preventive custody. They were then produced before the Thiruvalla magistrate, who remanded them to 14-day judicial custody. Surendran was later taken to the Kottarakara sub-jail.
When the Ayyappa temple had opened for monthly pujas in October and early this month, it witnessed a string of protests from frenzied devotees against the entry of young women. A few of them made a vain bid to offer prayers at the holy shrine.
A 46-year-old woman, who arrived from nearby Kazhakootam to go to Sabarimala, was turned back from Chengannur Saturday, following protests.
