BJP leader demands apology from Kerala CM before Ayyappa event

Kochi, Sep 6 (PTI) Senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan on Saturday said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his government should apologise to Ayyappa devotees before organising the Global Ayyappa Sangamam.

He also condemned the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) decision to invite DMK ministers to the summit, calling them opponents of "Sanatana Dharma.” "The state government and Chief Minister should first apologise for taking a stand to alter traditions at Sabarimala earlier. They should also apologise for calling some devotees fake after they had to return without completing the pilgrimage," he told reporters here.

He wanted the state government to initiate steps to implement the Sabarimala master plan.

“The state government, which has done nothing in the last nine to ten years, has now come up with an Ayyappa summit. Devotees can clearly understand the intention behind it,” he added.

Muraleedharan also slammed the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) decision to invite DMK ministers to the summit, calling them "opponents of Sanatana Dharma.” On Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi being invited to the event, he said it was up to the union minister to decide on attending.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, meanwhile, said the state government and TDB should first clarify whether they would withdraw the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court in favour of breaking traditions at Sabarimala.

He also demanded answers on the withdrawal of cases registered against Ayyappa devotees during the 2018 protests.

“This Sabarimala master plan comes in the tenth year of the government, just before elections are announced. Those who did nothing for the development of Sabarimala in the last nine years are now showing fake love for Ayyappa,” Satheesan said.

He alleged the government was making space for communal forces and organisations. “We suspect a CPI(M)-BJP nexus behind this. Current developments point to it, but we will face it,” he said.

On the question of attending the Sangamam, Satheesan said the state government must first respond to the opposition’s queries.

“We have always stood with Ayyappa devotees. They called us feudals and acted as reformers. They formed a reformation committee to break traditions. That committee still exists. Now they are trying to deceive devotees with new tricks,” he added. PTI TBA ROH