Kochi, November 23: Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala general secretary K Surendran on Friday accused the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of keeping him behind bars. Surendran was remanded to 14-days judicial custody by a magistrate court in Ranni on Friday for his alleged involvement in the Sabarimala protest.

Speaking to the reporters on Friday, on his way to the court from the sub-jail in Kottarakkara, he said by The Indian Express, “These are all false cases. I have been charged in incidents which haven’t even taken place. This is an orchestrated attack and the CM’s office is behind this. But I will not step away from the fight to uphold the traditions of Ayyappa even if they torture me.” Sabarimala Row: 4 Women Move Kerala HC, Seek 2 Dedicated Days For Women's Entry

The Kerala police had taken the saffron outfit leader earlier this week, after he denied returning back from Nilakkal, which is the base camp of the hill shrine the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala. Charging him of violating prohibitory orders and using criminal force to prevent officers from doing their duty, police arrested him.

Earlier, the BJP leader was granted bail on Wednesday in one of the cases, but was not released from jail as an existing non-bailable warrant in Kannur is registered against him.

Alleging that the Left-ruled government is afraid of him, he said that he was kept in jail as there are high chances that he might win by-election in Manjeswaram in Kasaragod district, which fell vacant after the MLA passed away.

Expressing his anguish, he said, “They have two intentions: one to break the confidence of Ayyappa devotees and second to push me out of the picture completely in the Manjeswaram bye-election case. I will fight this courageously, I’m sure that lakhs of Ayyappa devotees and believers are with me.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2018 04:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).