Kerala Assembly disrupted by temple row

Congress and BJP have been protesting against state government over prohibitory orders

After the Kerala government extended prohibitory orders in Sabarimala until tomorrow, the Congressled UDF yesterday disrupted Assembly proceedings for the sixth consecutive day.

While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers took to the streets across the state, the party had called for a Thiruvananthapuram shutdown today to protest so-called “police high-handedness”.

Both the Congress and the BJP have been protesting against the Kerala government as it has been extending the prohibitory orders in the temple town ever since the Ayyappa shrine opened on November 16.

The protests by three UDF legislators in the foyer of the House entered the eighth day on Monday.

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala told the media in the Assembly they came in with a lot of expectation yesterday after Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan called them for a meeting.

“We thought we would get good news that the government had decided to lift the prohibitory orders in Sabarimala. But we were told that it was not ready. We want the prohibitory orders to go as it will send a message across the country that the temple town is peaceful,” he said.

“It has been 23 days since the festival season began and to date only 8.5 million [devotees] have come. Had things been peaceful, the number of pilgrims arriving would have increased like any season in the past.”

The average number of devotees who normally arrive in the temple town over the past seasons was at least 100,000 a day. BJP General Secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan’s indefinite fast in front of the state Secretariat entered the eighth day on Monday.

Union IT Minister K.J. Alphonse, after visiting Radhakrishnan, urged the Kerala government to work in a democratic manner.

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala told the media in the Assembly they came in with a lot of expectation yesterday after Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan called them for a meeting.