Kochi/Malappuram: With six days left for the election, the alleged meddling by police in the proceedings of Thrissur Poram has touched off a wave of intense reactions within political circles. 

Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan on Saturday raised a serious allegation that the Left government in the state was supporting the move to communalise the Thrissur Pooram. The Congress leader said the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government tried to make space for BJP in Thrissur by letting the police make undue interference in the conduct of the temple festival.

Satheesan linked the festival with politics after police restrictions forced the participating temple managements to change the timing of the famed fireworks. The colourful pyrotechnics – a major attraction of the massive festival – were reduced to faint trails of smoke due to the change in the timing. 

'' Thrissur Pooram is a secular festival attended by people of all religions. The government is supporting the move to communalise it. The court has arranged a mechanism for the conduct of the festival. Then why are the police interfering in it unnecessarily? Pinarayi Vijayan is eyeing communal polarisation just like Prime Minister Modi does. The CPM’s aim is to make space for the BJP by muddling the issue,'' Satheesan told media at Paravur.

Satheesan repeated his allegation that CM Vijayan was attacking Rahul Gandhi to appease Modi and BJP. 

BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan said the LDF government was not with the believers.  He drew comparisons between Sabarimala and Thrissur Pooram.  Like what happened in Sabarimala the state government is also disturbing the Pooram Festival, he said.  He was talking at a press meet in Malappuram on Saturday.  

He rebuked the allegation of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan that the police had deliberately interrupted the Pooram for the benefit of Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency candidate Suresh Gopi.  V D Satheesan is trying to politicise the issue, Kummanam added.

"Why is the government intervening in the festivals of believers?  They are saying that they are secular and if there is religious freedom, the temples must be governed by the believers. This government was trying to disturb the conduct of Pooram. From the beginning, they implemented different kinds of restrictions. The police have not mentioned a clear reason to block the Pooram rituals,'' Kummanam said.

The controversy over the temple feat assumes significance as Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing a three-cornered contest. The BJP has high hopes of winning the seat riding on the popularity of its actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi. He is taking on Congress’ K Muraleedharan and CPI’s V S Sunil Kumar. 

Muraleedharan said the state government and the district administration were responsible for the police's high-handedness. “A staffer of the Thiruvambady Devaswom even suffered injuries in the police lathicharge," he said. He also targeted the union government on the issue, saying the central laws were imposing several restrictions on the fireworks display. 

The controversies took the sheen off the iconic festival. It is for the first time in the history of the festival, the display of fireworks had to be held in daylight. After the culmination of the Pooram festivities, differences cropped up between officials of Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu Devaswoms and the police over management of the festival crowd.

Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu Devaswoms are the main organisers of Thrissur Pooram. Following arguments with the police, the Thiruvambady Devaswom called off the festival proceedings and held the customary rituals in a low-key manner. The firework display, which was scheduled to begin at 3 am, took place after 7 am. While the firework display of Paramekkavu Devaswom was held after 7 am, the "vedikkettu" of Thiruvambady Devaswom, which was initially reluctant for the display, was started later in the day. People who came from across the state to witness the fireworks on Friday night strongly protested against its postponement.