Sabarimala Row Escalates, Protesting Outfits Call Shutdown After Hindu Aikya Vedi Leader KP Sasikala Detained
The state-wide bandh, which began at 6am today, would exempt the devotees moving towards the hill-top Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.
Kottayam, November 17: The row at Sabarimala is likely to escalate further as the Sabarimala Karma Samiti - an umbrella outfit comprising all major groups protesting against the Supreme Court order on women's entry - has called a 12-hour shutdown after Hindu Aikya Vedi state president KP Sasikala was detained by the Kerala police.
The state-wide bandh, which calls for the closure of all commercial establishments, would exempt the devotees moving towards the hill-top Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala. Temple Opens Amid Tight Security for Two-Months Long Pilgrimage Season.
The shutdown call was issued at 6am -- nearly four hours after Sasikala was detained for violating prohibitory orders. The socio-religious leader, aged over 50, had arrived in Sabarimala late in the night to scale the 5.5 route leading to the sanctum sanctorum.
Notably, the Sabarimala temple reopened on Friday amid tight security for a two-month period. On the first day, a 14-hour drama was witnessed at the Kochi airport, where activist Trupti Desai had arrived in the morning at 4:30am.
Desai had written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to provide her adequate security for visiting the Sabarimala shrine. Despite the police efforts, Desai was not allowed to leave the airport, forcing her to return to Mumbai late night yesterday.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed in Sabarimala between October 17-22 and November 5-6 -- the two occasions when the temple had reopened after the Supreme Court's landmark verdict allowing women of menstrual age to enter the sanctum shrine.
A major section of the devotees, along with Travancore Devaswom Board, had opposed the order, pointing out that Lord Ayyappa is worshipped as a celibate God in Sabarimala.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 17, 2018 09:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).