The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will stand with devotees and fight for their rights till the end. The party is also pleased to see the LDF government backtracking shocked by the immense public response Sabarimala Viswasa Samrakshana Jatha is garnering, BJP State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai has said.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme here on Friday, Mr. Pillai challenged the government to conduct a survey among the female Hindu population. “The CPI(M) had been trying to destroy Sabarimala for over 50 years. Their big leaders, including A.K. Gopalan and E.K. Nayanar, have attempted it. But all their strategies failed. Look at what happened to Gopala Sena formed by AKG. But Sabarimala withstood all that.”
He came down heavily on P.K. Sreemathy, MP, who allegedly made some derogatory remarks against female devotees. Mr. Pillai said the LDF government had resorted to divide and rule tactics by bringing out the caste card.
“But that also failed. More than 10,000 people walked for over 15 km with us in one of the biggest rallies the State has ever witnessed. The CPI(M) could not bring even 300 women at a meeting they organised in Pathanamthitta. Their plan to arrange conventions and family meetings across the State can only be seen as a desperate attempt,” he said.
He pointed out that the Centre had made its stand clear through Attorney General K.K. Venugopal who endorsed the judgement by Justice Indu Malhotra. Mr. Pillai said that even after the long march, the BJP would go ahead with other modes of protest. “The agitation we started will slowly spread to other States as well. Our stand has been solid from the very start and we will never resort to violence,” he said.
